After Fate
by JimFlint
Summary: A fanfic of a fanfic. (with permission given) Here is my take on the continuation of Not this Time, Fate by Coeur Al'Aran. M rating for swearing and violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all, Here goes my first serious attempt at writing a fanfic. You've been warned.**

 **First and foremost, I do not own RWBY.**

 **Second, this is a fanfic based on a fanfic. Coeur Al'Aran wrote the Fic (Not this time, Fate) that inspired my to try my own hand. Please go read Not this time, Fate for the context and events that lead up to this.**

 **I did ask for and receive permission to try this from Coeur, and hopefully I can stay faithful to their writing style, as it has become one of my favorites.**

 **With that out of the way, please enjoy.**

* * *

=AFTER FATE=

Jaune awoke slowly in his bed, an irritating sing song sounding in his room. Since when did he have a singing alarm clock? Answers were slow to come to him, the soft, soft whispers of sleep beckoning him to return to their warm embrace. He almost gave in.

Unfortunately for Jaune, the rooms other occupants were slightly less forgiving of the offending device. Any chances of him ignoring the slightly annoying sound were shattered as a shrieking banshee of yellow fire shot across the room, smashing an aura shielded knee into his face in an attempt to find the alarm.

Jaune's cry of agony was drowned out by a string of curses as the owner of the offending limb found the source of the early morning wake up call. Clutching a hand to his face, he managed to make out the face of his team mate perched less than a foot away from his own. A very irritated team mate, who was holding his scroll in such a manner as to suggest she was going to force feed him said scroll unless he had a very good reason as to why it was sounding at five in the morning. On a Saturday no less.

Once again, Jaune was tempted to simply drift back off into la la land since his aura had taken the sting from his facial battering and the device had been silenced. At least until he realized his team mate was VERY close to taking a scroll photo of his tonsils.

"Yang," he began slowly, still three quarters asleep, "I feel the need to remind you that you can't graduate if you murder your team leader." His hand having moved from his jaw up to his eyes as he focused more on not getting skewered by scroll.

"You have five seconds to explain before I try it anyways." Yang growled. Eyes bleary red from sleep and her semblance, met an equally tired set of blue.

A hypersonic pillow spared Jaune from having to answer, seeing as how it struck the half-asleep brawler square in the head and knocked her clean off his bed. "It's too early for this." Jaune's partner glowered from the bed next to his. Her artic blue eyes glaring maliciously from under her other pillow said that revenge was coming, but only after another hour or two of sleep.

Yang pealed the pillow off her face and groggily crawled off the floor and into her own bed, keeping the pillow as either a war prize or future ammunition. Her snores filled the room a moment later as she returned to the dream realm.

Jaune blinked the last dregs of sleep from his eyes as he finally noticed the pair of golden eyes boring a hole through his head from the far side of Yang's bed. He sighed, yet another promise of pain should he disturb their slumber again.

With a sigh, he picked up his scroll from where Yang had dropped it and slid it open. Funny enough, it wasn't an alarm, but a call that had set off the mornings fireworks. A sign escaped him as he checked the caller ID before he punched in a quick message to the contact and swiftly silenced his scroll to prevent any more early morning violence.

The response came back a few seconds later, _"Rise and shine, runt. Meet me at in the training rings in five."_

Jaune stared at the message for a solid minute, then for another minute. He briefly wondered how much effort it'd take to make up an excuse for _not_ showing up before accepting the fact that he was now mostly awake and it therefore would require effort to fall back asleep.

With a resigned sigh he rolled out of his bed, careful not to make too much noise and conjure the wrath of the two huntresses-in-training and the one demi goddess that shared the living space.

A quick dash of cold water to the face was enough to wash the last vestiges of sleep from his mind before he stripped out of his sleeping clothes. He ran a hand over the newest scar on his chest, a cut that sat just above his heart with a matching one on his back.

The memory of Adam Taurus's blade piercing him was dulled by the memories of hundreds if not thousands of similar and worse wounds he'd collected over his unnaturally long life. Not that they were visible, having been received mostly in his past lives.

The only ones he still bore were the stab wound on his heart, a smaller cut near it, and the long since healed claw marks that stretched across his stomach. A reminder of the price he had almost paid to save his mothers life.

Finally dressed, Jaune slipped silently out of the room and stalked down the hallways of the rebuild Beacon. A strange sense of déjà vu tugged at him, the lay out was the same, having been rebuild neigh exactly the same after the Fall of Bea… no, the Defense of Beacon. The differences came in some of the colors; the halls were a different shade, the carpet had a different pattern, and some of the décor was changed. But it was still Beacon, still his home of a thousand or more years. Except now it was changing, with a chance to age once more. And now, so was he.

Qrow stood near the edge of the training ring, leaning against one of the benches that circled up and around the center. Very quietly, Jaune crept up behind the older huntsman, unnoticed as he prepared to deliver some much-deserved vengeance.

As Jaune swung a well-placed foot at Qrow's ankle, he somehow missed his mark. Instead of dispensing justice on the man, Jaune nearly displaced his big toe as he struck the leg of the bench.

The resulting bang of foot meeting wood and Jaune's curse of pain made Qrow jump, coughing and spitting out his drink as he came close to dropping his flask altogether.

"Damn kid! Don't pull that shit, you scared the hell out of me." The raggedy bearded man said, coughing again as he gave Jaune a slight glare.

Jaune sucked air through his teeth, laid out on the floor and giving Qrow a death glare as he cradled his bruised foot. "Your semblance sucks. You know that?" he said, continuing to glare as Qrow hauled him to his feet.

"Well, don't try to kic-MOTHERFu…." Qrow's comment was cut off as Jaune managed to land his second attempt as ankle assault. "Don't get me nearly killed by your niece at five in the morning." Jaune said, making his displeasure with the older man clear.

"What... never mind." Qrow said, shaking his head and taking a swig of his booze, "Not what I called you for anyways."

"And why did you feel it necessary to call me anyways?" Jaune grumbled, leaning against the opposite row of benches, "And since when are you awake this damn early anyways."

Qrow finished off his drink and pocketed the flask before replying. "I'm up this early when I haven't been to sleep." The slightly darker bags under his eyes were testament to his words.

"Ozpin wants to talk to you and mini ice-princess later today," Qrow's usual scowl took on a slight upturn at Jaune's annoyed look, "I figured I'd take the liberty of informing you myself."

Jaune just kept glaring at the man, before stalking away back to the door. _Note to self, switch his booze for fruit juice next opportunity_ , he thought to himself _._

* * *

Jaune stalked back to his dorm room, still irritated by Qrow's antics and missing his bed. He knocked once on the door, just to avoid any more morning injuries before sliding into the room and making a beeline to his loving bed; a content sigh escaping him as the almost still warm covers called his name.

"Don't fall asleep again." A voice spoke, shattering the last chance Jaune had of catching any more shut eye. "Weiss, give me one good reason not to." He said irritably.

A sudden gust of cold air enveloped him, earning a cry of shock at the sudden drop in temperature. He rolled off the bed and began desperately rubbing his arms for warmth.

"Good, now that your awake, we can start the day properly. Blake's already headed down to breakfast." Weiss stated, from her position at the edge of her bed. She'd already changed from her night clothes to her casual attire while he'd been gone and had a semi smug look on her face as she combed out her hair.

Jaune gave what felt like his tenth sigh of the day already and glanced around the room. Noting Yang's absence, only for the sound of the shower to give away her location.

He pulled himself up and moved around the end of his bed to sit by Weiss, listening to her hum a soft tune.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked, taking a moment to fully take her in, checking for any signs of fatigue or lack of rest.

Weiss glanced over when he spoke, before blushing slightly under his gaze. "I-I slept fine, thank you." She finally said, "and stop staring, it's weird."

Jaune let out a low chuckle before placing a hand under her chin and slowly bringing her eyes back to meet his. He paused for a second to take in her beauty, the way the morning light placed through her hair to dance in her pale blue eyes.

A soft smile played across her lips as she leaned up to place a chaste kiss on his. Leaning back slightly before he could enjoy it and tilted her head, listening to the sound of the shower still running.

"Paranoid much?" Jaune asked with a smirk, leaning in for a more passionate kiss. Not a kiss from a cheap romance movie, but one that resonated with the comfort of knowing that they were both there and alive.

Weiss's cheeks were dusted with pink and a small, honest smile on her lips. "No, I simply seem to remember exactly who our 'daughter' is." She said, her tone airy as she resumed brushing her hair.

Jaune's eyes slid to the bathroom door just in time to see the red light of a scroll's recording function disappear behind the slight crack in the door.

"Ah, they grow up so fast." He said wistfully, "First burning down random clubs, now building up black mail on her own mother." A grin growing on his face at a subdued 'hey' at the mention of arson.

Weiss rolled her eyes and batted him in the chest with her comb, though her smile betrayed any attempt at seeming annoyed.

"Seriously though, how did you sleep?" He asked again, voice a little lower than before, a small amount of concern detectable in it.

Weiss's comb paused for a moment, her gaze on the far wall, "As I said, fine. A few new memories, but nothing traumatic or such. Nothing that woke me up or for you to be concerned about." She said, matching his volume, "What about you? I didn't hear you wake up in the middle of the night."

Jaune nodded his head slowly as she spoke, pausing to process his reply, "I slept well, better than I have in a while." He said, "Could have done without Yang assaulting me, though."

"HEY, it was your dumb scroll that went off," Said person interrupted while swinging the bathroom door open, silently admitting that she was eavesdropping on them.

"It was _your_ dumb uncle who called." Jaune shot back as Weiss rolled her eyes and finished tying up her hair into her signature ponytail.

Yang raised an eyebrow as she plopped down in the desk chair, "Oh yea? What'd he want?" she asked while pulling on one boot.

"Me dead, apparently." He replied, getting a chuckle from Yang.

"Well, he's gonna need to try harder than that if he wants to take out our fearless leader." Yang said, as she finished lacing up her boots, "but let's go get breakfast."

And with that, Yang Xiao Long left the building. Or well, at least the room.

"Was that all he really wanted?" Weiss asked as she stood, glancing up at Jaune, who stood up as well.

"He said Ozpin wanted to talk with you and me later." Jaune replied, picking up his coat from the end of his bed.

"Hmm, I wonder if something's happened." Weiss said as they began towards the door, pausing to smile and peck Jaune on the cheek when he opened the door for her.

"We'll find out soon enough, I suppose." He said as he walked next to her, their strides carrying them side by side down the hall.

* * *

Blake Belladonna sat near the edge of the cafeteria, a half-eaten breakfast bagel before her sitting next to an open book. Chin resting on her knuckles as her eyes skimmed the pages half-heartedly. As she listened to the early morning shuffle and light chatter of the kitchen staff and half a dozen students who were up at this hour.

Her thoughts pulled her from her book as she looked vaguely around the room. The room had certainly changed over the last six months ago. Different from when she and her team had defeated Team RRNN (Rubine), and different from when Adam had laid waist to those who took shelter in it during the Attack on Beacon.

When the mad man had nearly slew her and her partner, had nearly taking their team leader. She glanced around the room once more, morbidly wondering just where Adam had laid dead.

Blake caught a flash of bright yellow entering the main doors as her partner strode into the room, making a beeline for the buffet line. A small smile touching her lips at the Blondes lively nature, Yang certainly drew attention to herself.

"You gonna eat that?" A voice sounded from next to her, less than a foot away to be accurate. Blake's thoughts ground to a halt as she nearly dislocated her neck, eeped, and half jumped out of her seat, turning to look at who had managed to sneak up on her without her so much as noticing.

A raised eyebrow from Jaune gave the impression he hadn't meant to scare her, though he did apologize after the hit his arm and glared at him. "Can you stop doing that?!" she said, still glaring at him as her heartrate slowed back down to normal.

Jaune rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "Sorry, I thought you heard me sit down." He said, a grin on his face.

"Seriously? There's no way you didn't do that on purpose." She shot back, bouncing a crumb off his face. The slight gleam in her eye betrayed her forced annoyance though.

"Maybe I was just trained by a secret ninja tribe." Jaune offered, taking a bite out of his bowl of oatmeal and giving her a sideways glance.

Now shaken from her darker thoughts, Blake rolled her eyes and took a bite from her bagel, chewing softly before swallowing. "Some tribe of ninjas if they created you." She scoffed lightly, the barest hint of a grin on her face, causing Jaune to chuckle along.

"I never said they were smart ninjas." He said, continuing to eat.

The rabble of more students entering the room created a more comfortable atmosphere as the two waited for their team mates to join them.

Blake closed her book after marking the page and bit at her bagel again. "So, anything new with you? I haven't seen you for a week or so." She asked, watching as Yang made her way around the tables.

"Visited the family for a bit," Jaune said with a shrug, "Planning out some new training exercises for the team."

Blake raised an eyebrow at that, still half struggling to place this new attitude of her once apathetic team leader. "And what exactly do these new training exercises entail? Did you bribe Nora again?"

Jaune chuckled, stirring his oatmeal a bit, "Nah, I figured I'd actually put some more effort into the team this semester." He said, his eyes wandering off a little as he said that.

He'd been doing that a lot, Blake thought, saying something about the new year or how things were changing, then getting a distant look in his eye. Nothing that lasted long or that she could catch without looking for it, but it was there.

"Heeellllooooo, kitty kat," Yang said brightly, sitting down next to Blake and depositing a heavily loaded breakfast platter onto the table, "How's my frisky feline friend doing this fine morning." She said, a wide grin on her face.

Blake rolled her eyes at her partner's antics and proceeded to reopen her book while ignoring the blonde. "I'm not even going to warrant that with a response." She said, noting Weiss joining them with a short nod to the heiress, which was returned in kind.

"Oh, come on, that was a good one, right Jaune?" Yang asked, looking for support from her team leader.

Jaune left her hanging, focusing on his own meal and leaving her to sigh loudly before digging into a pile of bacon and eggs.

Blake felt a small smile slip across her lips as she and Weiss shared a look and silent conversation about Yang's dramatics.

* * *

Jaune shucked off his coat as he walked towards the out-door training area. A field set between two of Beacon's wings on the eastern side of the campus. He took a deep breath as he watched the rest of his team begin their stretches and warm ups. He idlily noted the four new additions as well, all of team RRBN being present.

"Jaune!" His first, and probably best friend in Beacon called out moments before he was struck by a swirl of red rose peddles and 15-year-old huntress in training. He took the added weight and velocity in stride, spinning once to compensate as Ruby swung herself up onto his shoulders to look over and down at him.

"Did you miss me?" She asked, smiling brightly down from her perch.

Jaune rolled his eyes, a soft grin on his face at the red reapers always cheery attitude. "Of course, your sister is a nightmare." He said, continuing over to where the others were, headless of the added weight on his shoulders.

"Jauney!" another high-pitched voice called out moments before both Jaune and Ruby were driven to the ground beneath RRNN's own barbarian. One Nora Valkyrie.

"Good morning to you too, Nora." Jaune managed from beneath the orange haired girl, Ruby having seen the incoming attack and jumped off before impact.

"Are you ready to become the absolutest bestest teams of Beacon?" Nora asked loudly, directly into Jaune's ear before being bodily hauled off by Pyrrha. The champion fighter gave Jaune a warm smile as Nora bounced in place beside her.

Jaune just rolled his eyes from the ground before Ren offered him a hand up, the quieter man simply nodding to him with a grin.

"Missed you guys too," Jaune said, dusting himself off and looking over his old friends. Noting the slight changes in their looks, though nothing too dramatic, they all looked a little taller. Perhaps that was simply the way they carried themselves. A more confident way they moved and acted around each other.

"Oi, Jaune!" Yang shouted from a few yards away, "We gonna get this thing rolling or what?" She asked, rolling her shoulder as she loosened up her muscles.

Jaune rolled his eye's and walked over to the rings pained on the grounds, team RRBN flanking behind him. It felt good to be home.

* * *

Yang collapsed on the ground outside the ring, her breath coming hard after the last twenty minutes of action. She was quickly joined by Blake, the Faunus looking equally exhausted as she took a deep breath.

"You know," Yang said, still a bit out of breath, "I knew Jaune was always faking his abilities, but this is a bit ridiculous."

Blake huffed in agreement, looking back to the sparring session still in progress. A seemingly simple exercise in the form of the game keep away. The rules being that one person tried to keep hold of a small ball as long as possible while two others tried to knock the player out of the arena. The player lost once they left the ring or dropped the ball. Additional rules being no semblances and no weapons.

Jaune was currently the reigning king of the game as he proceeded to dodge and weave between Pyrrha and Nora, tripping Nora so she collided with her teammate and taking them both down.

"He is showing a remarkable growth in ability recently." Blake agreed, "His skill does seem far beyond someone of our age."

Yang shot her a raised eyebrow, "Fine, a ridicules amount." Blake conceded.

"I keep thinking back to how I first met him. The way he moved when we fought, and even now, it's like he knows every move we're gonna make. I've had to change my routine every time just to keep an edge on him." Yang said, elbowing her way up to a sitting position.

"I mean, watch," She said, nodding to Jaune slipping behind Pyrrha in a fake out move, "He's never even sparred against those two at the same time, yet he's constantly one step ahead. Not to mention he almost beat Pyrrha in a spar, he came closer than anyone else ever has."

Blake winced as Jaune caught a clothes line from Nora, only to pull a flying choke hold before flipping the ginger out of the ring.

The match continued for a few more minutes, with Jaune finally being knocked out of the ring when Ren joined Pyrrha in the fight.

Yang perked up slightly as Jaune walked over and sat down next to her and Blake to watch Weiss go up against Ruby and Ren. Pyrrha tossed Nora a bottle of water as she claimed a spot under one of the few trees near the ring.

Jaune let out a long breath as he watched the current bought, and Yang watched him. Jaune had changed drastically after the Defense of Beacon, she'd noticed him changing before that though, in the weeks leading up to it, the whole ordeal with Weiss and the conversations she'd had with Jaune's family still nagged at the back of her mind.

Now, he was a far cry from the lazy, sarcastic womanizer he'd once been.

Yang blinked as she realized Jaune was now staring at her, "I don't think Weiss would approve of you looking at me like that." He deadpanned.

Yang snorted and shook her hair, laughing at her team leader and smacked his shoulder.

"Don't be creepy, old man. You ain't my type." She said before turning back to the fight.

"How's your family doing?" She asked, "I talked to Sapphire a few weeks ago, anything new happening?"

Jaune shrugged, "They're doing good, Dad's out on a mission in the next town over and Mom's got her hands full with Joan." Weiss, the current ball carrier let out a yelp as Ruby cut her legs out from under her while she was distracted by Ren. "I heard Amber has been raising cane in school, and the others have been doing ok."

Yang nodded, she was fond of Jaune's family, how despite it's size, everyone was included and got along for the most part.

"Has Amber forgiven you yet for staying in Beacon?" Blake asked, reminding them of her presence from the other side of Yang.

Jaune rolled his eyes, "You honestly expect her to give up her premier blackmail material?" He asked, earning a chuckle from the dark-haired girl. "I doubt I'll ever hear the end of it."

"Probably not." Blake said, "Look's like its my turn to be 'it'." She said as she climbed to her feet and headed to the ring, catching the ball Weiss tossed her.

Weiss, for her part, claimed Blake's spot on the ground, drinking deeply from her water bottle.

Jaune shot her a smile over the top of Yang's head, catching the heiress's eye and earning a smile in return.

"So you know, I'm gonna throw up on both of you if you start acting all mushy." Yang said from between them.

"You do know this is partly your fault," Weiss said, "You're the one that kept up the jokes about us being married."

"True, true." The Blonde said, grinning from between the two, "I still reserve the right to be the child and be weirded out by my parents making kissy face."

Jaune responded by planting an elbow on Yang's gut as he crawled over her to sit next to Weiss.

"I swear, I can't tell which one of you is the child sometimes." Weiss said as she rolled her eyes at Yang's over the top reaction, though she did readjust her position slightly to allow Jaune to sit a little closer.

Yang laughed through it, enjoying watching how everyone was getting along again after being away from each other, even though it had been no more than a week or two at a time. It felt like everyone was finally home.

* * *

Jaune walked easily through Beacon, the after-training shower had felt great and allowed him to relax as he made his way to the elevators that lead to the Headmaster's office.

Another reason for his good mood was how Weiss kept an easy pace next to him, hand in his. It was something that still made him smile when he thought about it.

The sight of the duo generated a fair bit of gossip with the other students in the halls. To say that the two were now the most well know students in the academy wouldn't be any stretch of the truth. Given their rolls during the attack and the subsequent reveal to the rest of the world, it was fair to say that they were now Beacon's number one source of student gossip.

That and the world wide televised declaration of their relationship status.

Jaune felt he couldn't care less for the stares he received, be them out of respect, curiosity, or as was far more common, envy.

His smile had yet to fade as they stepped into the elevator where Weiss finally spotted his goofy grin in the doors reflection.

"Please tell me you haven't been walking through the entire school with that expression." Weiss said with a sigh of exasperation.

Jaune's smile didn't fade one bit under her irritated glare in the reflection.

"Honestly, you've been acting like this every time we're together." She said, huffing at as he wrapped an arm around her as the elevator ascended.

"Are you complaining?" Jaune asked, grinning down at her and pouting.

"No." Weiss said, relaxing in his embrace a little. The pressure on her had been compounded after the Defense, what with the way her father had railed against the idea of her staying in Beacon. Add to that the fact that she was now the Fall Maiden; and hadn't that been a harrowing conversation. Jaune had to exercise every ounce of self-control to keep from assaulting the aristocrat then and there, and judging by the look on Ozpin, Glynda, Ironwood, and Winter's faces, so had they.

Jaune shook his head to dispel the memories of that shouting match, focusing once more on their reflections in the polished elevator door.

They really did make a sharp pair, he thought. What with Weiss's usual outfit forgone for a simpler design, a short evening dress that was modified for more of a combat approach. With a color scheme that started dark blue at the shoulders and faded to white at the bottom. Her arms, from the elbow down were left bare. Her back was exposed from her neck to between her shoulder blades, a choker set with a small pearl completed the ensemble with a matching bracelet.

Jaune sported a blue blazer coat modified for a huntsman and the same color as Weiss's dress. Beneath the coat he wore a white t-shirt tucked into a pair of rugged, black slacks.

Altogether, Jaune couldn't complain about the deviation from his old look, seeing how his armor fit well under his jacket and actually hid it fairly well. Plus, the jacket was loose enough to allow him full movement in a combat, even if he preferred to remove it if he knew a fight was coming.

The two stepped out into the Headmaster's office, taking in the new look of the rebuilt tower. It was identical, to the point Jaune's eye twitched at the attention to detail.

The Ozpin glanced up at their arrival from behind a holographic monitor. "Good afternoon, Mr. Arc, Ms. Schnee. Please take a seat." He said as he closed down the screen and took a sip from his signature cup.

A cup Jaune could have sworn had been destroyed in Cinder's rampage.

Weiss politely took her seat while Jaune took a moment more to glance the office. Ozpin had had it recreated perfectly.

"Love what you've done with the place. Really spruced the place up." Jaune said as he sat down next to Weiss, who shot him a small glare.

"Thank you, Mr. Arc. I was feeling nostalgic when I was asked for input on the design." Ozpin said as he leaned back in his chair. Jaune had the distinct impression the man was grinning behind his mug.

Weiss glanced between the two, where once she'd have tried to shush Jaune for being disrespectful, she now sat back as the two sparred with words. Jaune had told her a little about his interactions with Ozpin in his past and she could admit to a small amount of amusement in watching them trade barbs.

"In any case," Ozpin said, "I felt it would be best to catch you both up to speed on how things are going to progress for the near future."

Jaune and Weiss glanced to each other before nodding, "We read the email you sent last week." Jaune said, "It was a bit lax on detail."

"I do apologies for that. I'm afraid that, given the relatively short time frame, many things have only just been decided." Ozpin said before taking a sip of coffee, his mood dipping a little, "For the up coming semester, Beacon Academy will not be accepting any new applicants to study here."

Weiss's jaw dropped at the words and Jaune flinched hard enough to make his chair squeak violently on the floor.

"Mind you, it is for only this semester, and we will be reopening the doors for the following one." Ozpin continued, unaffected by their reactions. "I simply saw the need to allow a little more time for everything to settle back down. James has seen fit to offer any aspiring applicants a spot in Atlas for the short term if the need arises."

Having a moment to process what the Headmaster had said; the two students relaxed a little. It made sense, if you thought about it. Vale had been attacked by a large-scale terrorist attack, one that had brought a level of destruction and devastation that hadn't been seen in decades. It wouldn't be able to bounce back in six months. Still, Ozpin's delivery could use work. As Jaune saw fit to point out.

Ozpin gave a bitter smile and rough chuckle, "I suppose so. It something I have never in my time here seen. It seems this will be a year for many firsts," His face gained some hue of true humor, "Seeing as Mr. Arc has been accepted as an Assistant Professor in Advanced Combat Studies."

Weiss, the ever calm and collected heiress of Remnant's largest Dust producer, chocked on air as her brain was unable to decide if she wanted to laugh, gasp in shock, sigh in exasperation, or simply shut down. So, she tried to do all at once and failed spectacularly.

Jaune, for his part just sat there for a solid ten seconds, his head cocked to the side and a confused expression on his face. He slowly blinked once, then twice before turning to Weiss, and tapping her on the shoulder.

Finally, being able to reign in her control on her diaphragm, she slapped his hand away, managing a quick "What?" between gasps of air.

"I think you should call the infirmary," Jaune said slowly, "I'm pretty sure Ozpin's suffering from a massive stroke."

Weiss couldn't help but agree as she managed to get enough breath to continue living, and stared at Ozpin to see if he was pulling a massive joke.

Ozpin simply stared at them, hand's steepled before him, "I assure you, Mr. Arc, that I am in perfect health."

Jaune glanced from Weiss to Ozpin, then down to Ozpin's mug. He leaned slightly forward and sniffed towards the cup of coffee.

"I assure you, Mr. Arc, that I am not poisoned either." The man said, taking a sip from said cup.

"Then where in the hell did you come up with that idea?" Jaune asked in tone flat.

The smack of something hitting the window caused all three of them to jump violently. Three sets of eyes turned to the source of the commotion as a large black crow struggled against the glass of the tower. Said bird then proceeded to fight for a solid minute against the edge of the glass pane until it was able to pry the window open enough to squeeze in.

Weiss felt Jaune's aura begin resonating a murderous intent as the bird shook its head and, in the blink of an eye, transformed into one Qrow Branwen.

Qrow looked between the three of them with a grin on his face, "Did you tell'em my idea to make Arc a teacher?" He asked, taking a swig from his flask.

The drunk uncle of Ruby and Yang looked between them again before setting in on Jaune, his grin growing in to a toothy smile. "Look's like that's a yes."

Jaune contemplated murder.

End Chapter one.

* * *

 **AND NOTES.**

 **So, I am not going to be able to update this on a high frequency time schedule. I'm hoping for a chapter or two per month as my work tends to leave me wiped out at the end of the day. That said, I am going to stick with this and hopefully become a better writer for it. Cause God knows I'm horrible at it (and now, so will you).**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading and see you next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AND I'M BACK. ALRIGHT, ROUND TWO!**

 **Got to say, I didn't expect this much of a response right off the bat. THANK YOU GUYS!**

 **Alright, jumping into this, it is currently 11:45 at night, I have to work tomorrow, and had to pick my boss up from jail earlier. So great night. Also, working tomorrow. YAY!**

* * *

AFTER FATE

Chapter Two

A brand-new career

Qrow stood next to Ozpin's desk with a self-satisfied smirk on his face. His timing had been off slightly, but he was still plenty pleased with himself. True, the idea to make Arc an assistant professor had been off handed suggestion, but the more the Beacon staff had thought about it, the more it actually made some sense.

And the look on the kids faces was worth any future retribution.

He quickly pulled out his scroll and snapped a picture, sending to several contacts in his speed dial.

Ozpin's scroll vibrated loudly in the otherwise dead silent office.

Jaune's visage was completely calm, save for a rather violent twitch under his left eye. Weiss was slowly coming out of her shock and glared daggers at Qrow.

Said man promptly took another picture.

"You decided," Jaune said slowly, eye twitching again, "to make me an assistant professor. Of a combat class. Why?"

Weiss furrowed her brows as she looked between the two older huntsmen, confused and slightly concerned as to how they managed to arrive at this decision. Not that she thought Jaune would be incompetent in such a function, but the affects it would have on their team and their schooling.

After all, they were only second year students.

Granted, she was now the bearer or the Fall Maiden and on a whole nother power level… Jaune being an ex-time traveler… At least Blake and Yang were norma… Ex-terrorist and capable of thrashing massive mechas…

Why was her team so weird….

Why was she just now noticing it….

The sound of Ozpin setting his mug down brought Weiss back to the current situation. "Seeing as to the rather… complicated nature of your current situation, we have been back into an awkward corner." The man said, looking far to amused at their reaction. "Seeing as how you, Ms. Schnee, cannot exactly be classed as a typical student any more, we needed a way for you to stay in Beacon without raising any undue suspicion."

"You still need to be trained in the use of the Fall Maiden's power. While your family semblance does offer the convenient excuse for extensive training, we figured it'd best for someone…" Ozpin seemed to struggle to put his thoughts into words, "to be the focus of everyone's attention."

"We needed someone as bait." Qrow helpfully explained.

Jaune's eye twitched again.

"You see, we were all sitting there thinking, now how can we draw attention away from one student suddenly gaining massive amounts of power with zero explanation?" Qrow said, leaning against Ozpin's desk, "Then I thought, 'Hey, I know someone with some pretty interesting skills and is really good at drawing attention to themselves. Why not make him a teacher? That'll draw some eyes.'"

"You are going to wake up in a shallow grave in the emerald forest." Jaune growled under his breath.

Weiss elbowed him in the ribs.

"So, it's just a diversion tactic then," Weiss said, trying to wrap her head around the logic, "Jaune won't really be a teacher, it's just a title to help throw suspicion off me."

"I'm afraid Mr. Arc will need to actually preform at least some of the functions his new station requires." A new voice said, marking the entrance of Glynda Goodwitch entering the room.

The Deputy Headmistress of Beacon strode calmly past her and took up station next to Ozpin, "Mr. Arc will be assisting me with a select class of students from all years."

"You're actually approving of this idea?" Jaune couldn't help but ask, staring at her with a disbelieving expression.

Glynda shot him a glare, "Are you questioning my judgement?"

"Yes." Jaune replied flatly, "Yes, I very much am."

"Mr. Arc, you've shown a skill set far above that of an average student." She stated, "so much so that you rank on the level of an experienced huntsman. The only thing you have lacked is physical conditioning, something that seems to no longer be an issue."

"You've been stalking me." Jaune grumbled, crossing his arms.

Ozpin coughed into his hand, "Mr. Arc, as much as you may wish otherwise, this is the best course of action. Along with the benefit of helping your fellow students, there are a multitude of advantages to this decision. For one, as a member of the faculty, you and your team will be allowed access to a far larger amount of resources and a number of freedoms not allowed to a student."

"What do you mean by the team?" Weiss asked, now far more curious to this absurd proposition.

"Team Jazzberry has been allocated as assistants to the teaching staff of Beacon," Goodwitch said, crossing her arms, "You, Mr. Arc, will be assisting me with a training regime for the rest of the students, as well as providing your own class and offering one on one lessons with any students who wish to learn from you."

Jaune's glower grew as Glynda listed off his new duties. He'd just gotten his life back, saved from an endless crusade of violence. He just wanted to spend the rest of his life with his team and his family.

"Ms. Schnee, you shall be assisting me," Ozpin said, taking a sip from his mug, "You will be acting as a liaison and assistant while I try to rebuild the school, officially in any case. Your teammates will be helping Dr. Oobleck and Prof. Port."

Weiss glanced between the two teachers – Qrow didn't count to her – while considering what they said, "I-I can understand your reasoning," she said, "to a point, but what about our studies? We are only second years, we didn't even have a final exam for our first year… On account of the school being, well, on fire."

"Worry not, Ms. Schnee," Glynda said as Ozpin coughed while sipping his coffee, "You and your team will be allowed ample time for studies and retain some of your free time. Most of your duties will be flexible in schedule and will not have too great an impact on your learning."

"We didn't do this to make your life any harder, kiddo." Qrow said, playing with the cap of his flask, "But with everything that's happened, we do need you to stay relatively close."

Jaune's one sided staring competition with Ozpin ended as he fixed his eyes on Qrow.

"Since when do you have input on what goes on in the school?" Jaune asked, "I know you're Ozpin's pet pigeon, but I don't think you're a professor here."

"That's where you're wrong, kiddo." Qrow said, shooting finger guns at Jaune.

Two sets of blue eyes snapped to Ozpin.

"Mr. Arc, Ms. Schnee, meet Beacons newest staff member, Mr. Branwen." The grey-haired man asked.

Jaune looked to Glynda, pleading with his eyes that this was all a massive joke.

Glynda stared back.

Weiss opened her mouth, but suddenly forgot what she had wanted to say.

Qrow grinned and took another swig from his flask.

Ozpin sipped his coffee.

"That is all for now." Ozpin said with a small, content sign.

 _Man, that's some good coffee._

* * *

Jaune growled under his breath as he and Weiss rode the elevator down, their good mood shot.

Weiss touched a hand to his arm, "Hey, you okay?" She asked, a concern clear in her voice.

"Why is nothing ever simple?" Jaune asked, shaking his head, "One bought of insanity after the next. Am I cursed or something?"

Weiss giggled a little, "I'd say just hard-headed. For as crazy as this is, we've faced worse and survived. You fought against fate for a millennium. You should be fine with teaching a few students."

Jaune ran a hand down his face and sighed, "You're right, you're right. I guess I'm just a little strung out."

"Of course I'm right." Weiss said with an impish grin as she patted him on the arm, "And I think I got just the thing to help you destress a little."

Jaune raised an eyebrow, "You got me strippers?"

Weiss rolled her eyes and scoffed, "No, I did not get you strippers."

Jaune smiled a little easier as the car continued down.

When the doors opened, Weiss led him through the corridors of the school. Following the path that they'd first taken back in initiation they arrived at the cliffs of Beacon, she led him to a spot some little ways away from the launch pads. Behind a copse of trees there was a large rock overlooking the cliff and gave a spectacular view of the Emerald Forrest.

Weiss clambered up to top of the rock and sat down, Jaune following suit.

"I found this spot a few days ago," Weiss said, looking out over the vast track of land spread out below them. "I was wondering around and stumbled upon this."

Jaune took a deep breath of air. It was clean, tasting of earth and smelling of the evergreen trees around them. He followed Weiss's gaze, taking time to marvel at sight.

A carpet of green was interspaced with the occasional grey of old ruins that still poked through the canopy, juvenile Nevermores flew in small groups around those, while normal birds flocked together and soared on the soft warm breeze.

Jaune felt his body relax a little, the tension that had built up in his shoulders loosen as he pulled his legs up in front of him and stared out over the cliff.

The evening sun marked the day as three quarters over, catching the distant mountain range and making the snow-capped peaks glow bright white.

Jaune sighed and Weiss caught a glimpse of joy in his eyes. A smile broke across her face as she turned back to the view. Jaune showing emotion as a rare thing, and when he did, it usually wasn't pleasant ones. Or safe ones to those who stood in his way.

Weiss thought back to some of their first interactions; when she'd met him at her concert, he'd thrown her for a loop, clearly not caring for position in the slightest. Then again at Beacon, when she'd been so arrogant as to believe she'd influenced him to be a huntsman. And then almost killed him by shoving him out of a tree.

Her cheeks darkened slightly at the embarrassing memory. Jaune must have caught it because she heard him suppress a chuckle.

Back then, she'd thought him creative at first, but then being partnered with him had thrown all positive thoughts out the window.

Jaune had confused the ever-loving hell out of all of them, most of all her. She'd never been able to get a read on him, he always seemed… distant wasn't the right word,

Perhaps melancholy would fit, but it still didn't feel accurate.

He would joke and laugh with them, rile them up for his own entertainment. Be angry, angry when they put themselves in danger. He'd always be one step ahead of everyone, seemed to know exactly what they were thinking and how they were feeling.

But sometimes he'd slip up and act out completely randomly. High jacking a bullhead to save Blake at the docks being a prime example. Challenging Pyrrha in Miss Goodwitch's class being another. It also showed in how he treated every one of them, between their team and his old one. He always made time for them. Ruby especially, he always did his best to reassure her that everything was going to be ok.

Jaune also knew how to push all their buttons, something he'd used to maximum effect on her. Driving her up the walls with his laziness and general lack of concern for anything other than sleep.

"Thank you, Weiss." Jaune said softly, breaking her out of her revere.

"You're welcome, Jaune." She said, looking over to him to see him looking at her. Deep blue eyes, holding more memories and emotion then she could fathom met hers before turning back the forest.

And then, just like that, he'd changed. Or perhaps her understanding of him changed. She could see it every now and then, just the faint hints the boy buried under the weight of the world.

Now, she understood why, Miss Goodwitch had been close to correct when she'd said something horrible must have happened to turn Jaune into what he was now. It was just something inconceivable to a rational mind.

Weiss could see the Jaune who held on to the hope that he could save his friends. That he could make things right and one day everyone could get their happy ending. Who could take joy in something simple without worrying about a tragedy or the loss of a loved one.

Weiss wanted to protect that Jaune.

"You know," He began, "It feels like forever since I had a chance just to enjoy a view like this. For the past dozen or more repeats I'd done nothing but focus on learning as much as I could, training hard and working to undermine everything Cinder and her lot did. I ended up all across the world, chasing them. Go figure I'd miss the beauty of what was right in front of me."

"Well, we often over look what is right in front of us." Weiss said, placing her hand on his, enjoying the warmth of his skin and smiling as he squeezed her fingers gently.

Jaune let out a breath, something half ways between a huff and a laugh.

"I got an idea." He said, standing up on the rock and helping her up.

"Oh? Do tell." Weiss said as she hopped down behind him.

Jaune grinned and pulled out his scroll. He pressed a button as they stepped through the tree line again.

His rocket locker with his weapon landed a few yards away and next to the launch pads Ozpin had used to throw them into the forest.

"When's the last time we had the chance to fight through some grimm?" He asked as he pulled his weapon out of the blue locker.

"Oh, not since the last attack on the school." Weiss said as she summoned her own locker and retrieved her rapier. "Running start? See who makes it the farthest from the cliff?"

Jaune glanced towards the edge, "Nope." He pulled out his scroll again and began typing.

"Nope?" Weiss questioned, wondering how he intended to get down to the forest.

The sound of gears turning next to her drew her attention to the large metal plates on the ground.

Jaune's grin grew as he looked over at her incredulous expression. He waved his scroll a little, "Turns out, most of the stuff in Beacon runs off scrolls. If you know how to get into the network, you can control almost everything."

Weiss facepalmed, "Please tell me you didn't just hack into Beacon's security."

"Nope. Just logged in."

"Wait. Logged in how?"

"Teachers username and password." Jaune said, typing in a few more things into the scroll. Two pads in front of them clicked,

"Please tell me you didn't just use Miss Goodwitch's credentials." Weiss said, feeling a headache building as she massaged the bridge of her nose.

"Nope. Ports."

And just like that, headache gone.

"Ah… Well, I suppose a little jaunt in the woods would feel pretty good." Weiss said, drawing Myrtenaster and hopping onto one of the platforms.

Jaune laughed and walked onto his own, drawing Crocea Mors and pocketing his scroll.

"Five seconds." He said as he took a crouching stance.

"First to fifty?" Weiss asked, a competitive gleam in her eyes.

"You're on."

With a heavy thunk, the launch pads hurled the two students into the clear blue sky.

* * *

Ozpin looked out the window of his tower, cup in hand as he took in the view.

"Quite serene." He said, sipping his coffee.

Glynda stood next to him, a large scroll in one hand as she rubbed the other against her forehead, "I take it you are not referring to the two students who just launched themselves off the cliffs." She said, slightly exasperated. "How did he even…. Peter's login…" She mumbled.

"Sometimes I really do question your methods." Glynda said with a sideways glare at her boss as she closed the file and opened up the control panel with the Emerald Forest cameral feeds.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you are referring to."

* * *

Yang laid spread out across her bead, thumbing through her scroll. It felt good to be back at Beacon with the team back together. She grinned at a meme of a wet cat and forwarded it to Blake, who was sitting on her own bed with a book.

"You are so immature." Blake said as she checked the message, rolling her eyes at her partner.

"You love me." Yang said with a chuckle. "Have you heard from Sun lately?" she asked as she looked for more things to send Blake.

"I talked to him the other day, he's doing ok." Blake said, her cat ears flicking a little, "The team's recovered from their injuries and is back to classes. He mentioned something about transferring to Beacon for the next semester."

"I bet you're looking forward to that." Yang said with a grin, "Missing your little monkey man?"

Blake ignored that comment, though her cheeks did darken a little. "Someone's at the door." She said, one ear twitching.

Sure enough, someone knocked on the door not a second later.

"Ok, it's still kinda cool when you do that." Yang said as she rolled off the bed and on to her feet.

Blake grinned a little as she kept reading.

Yang opened the door, "Oh, hey Rubes. What's up?" She asked, seeing her little sister standing there.

"Hey Yang, Blake." Ruby said with a smile, "So the gangs heading into Vale tomorrow to hang out, you know, kinda a 'We're all back together' party thing. We were thinking of hitting an arcade and maybe a movie. Thought I'd see if you guys wanted to come too."

"I'm down." Yang said, glancing back to Blake, "What about you?"

Blake looked up from her book to see Ruby smiling hopefully at her. She rolled her eyes, "I suppose. I need to stop at a bookstore anyways."

Ruby cheered and hopped in place, "Can you see if Jaune and Weiss want to come too?" She asked.

"I'll ask them." Yang said, grinning at her little sister, "They should be back soon, so I'll let you know."

"Thanks Yang!" Ruby said happily.

Yang laughed as she reached out to drag her into a headlock. Only for Ruby to dissolve into a cloud of rose petals, reappearing just out of arms reach and sticking her tongue out.

"Nyaaaah!" Ruby said, crossing her eyes at her big sister.

"Oh, I'm gonna get you for that." Yang declared. "I'll be back later." She said to Blake, closing the door behind her as she chased Ruby down the hallways, their laugher echoing through the corridors.

Blake chuckled at the sisters as opened her book again. _What a crazy life I have_ , Blake thought to herself with a smile.

Half an hour later, Yang returned, panting heavily. "I think Ruby is getting faster." She said with a huff and trying to regain her breath. "I mean, seriously, she's always been fast, but damn."

Yang walked over to her bed and flopped down, "Phew. I need a shower after that." She said, getting back up and grabbing a change of clothes. "Weiss and Jaune make it back yet?" She asked as she moved towards the bathroom.

"Not yet. Haven't heard from them either." Blake replied, still in the same spot with her book.

"Huh, wonder what their up to." Yang said as she closed the bathroom door and turned on the shower.

Blake pulled out her scroll, it had been a while since their two teammates left. She thought it was just a meeting with Ozpin, but that had been at least an hour and a half ago.

She sent a quick text to Jaune, then remembered how Jaune had a tendency to not respond and sent one to Weiss too.

A few minutes later, her scroll buzzed. Blake opened the message. ' _Out in the Forest. Everything's fine, we'll be back for dinner.'_

Blake hummed and went back to reading.

* * *

By evening time, team JWBY and RRNN where finishing up dinner. The teams swapping stories of what they'd gotten up to while they'd been apart. Jaune gave them an update on his newest sister, which earned a round of coos and awes from the girls.

Nora recounted a larger than life battle that she and Ren had apparently been involved in, with Ren summarizing it down to 'Someone tried to mug Nora, Ren called an ambulance. The mugger should make a full recovery physically if not mentally.' Blake, Yang, and Weiss winced and looked at the bubbly bomber with mild concern.

Jaune just chuckled. That was Nora for you. The whole 'Break their legs' thing was sometimes serious.

Pyrrha said she'd gotten a chance to call her family, said they were proud of her and her big sister was coming to visit at some point once work aloud her some free time.

"I guess dad's gonna come for a visit some time in the next couple weeks." Yang said, taking aadrink from her glass

"Is Zwie happy to be back home?" Nora asked, leaning on the table.

"Yea, made a beeline for the couch." Ruby said with a laugh.

It was kinda weird not having the little dog in their room, he'd become something of a staple of the team's room.

"Oh," Weiss spoke up, drawing the tables attention to her, "Ozpin spoke to myself and Jaune today," She said, explaining for RRNN, "And he informed us of a few new changes happening this year."

Jaune groaned as everyone perked up and paid attention.

Weiss smirked a little at her partner's exasperated expression. "You all got the message about the announcement first thing Monday, right?" a round of nods said that everyone had, "Well, one of the big changes is there is two new teachers joining the staff."

The table ohhh'd at that, "Who are they? Are they some badass super hunters from another school?" Yang said.

"I hope they're better then Port." Someone said.

"I wonder what they'll be teaching." Ren said, a contemplative look in his eyes.

"I hope they have cool weapons." Ruby stated, practically vibrating in her seat.

"Well, don't keep us waiting." Nora said.

Weiss's grin grew as Jaune lowered his head onto the table.

"Well, one is someone we all know." Weiss said as the other's leaned in closer.

"Who is it, who is it, who is it." Ruby said, almost hanging off Weiss.

"You're uncle." Weiss said, shocking the table into silence.

Well, almost silent.

Yang spit her drink across the table, soaking Ren. Pyrrha and Nora's jaw dropped and Ruby froze.

"WhhhaaaaaaAAAATTTTT!" Ruby shrieked, causing Weiss minor hearing loss.

"Qrow's going to teach here?!" Yang said, only slight less loudly.

Blake just stared with her mouth agape.

Weiss ran a finger in her ear to try and make the ringing stop.

"Yes, Ruby. Mr. Branwen is going to be a teacher." Weiss said.

Jaune just kept his head on the table, arms over his head.

"Wait, wait, wait," Nora said loudly, having to almost yell to be heard over the sisters, "Who's the other one?"

That brought silence to the table once again as everyone paid rapt attention to the heiress once more.

Weiss simply smiled widely and held a hand out over Jaune as if she was presenting some painting at a museum.

Jaune groaned into the table.

Silence reigned supreme.

Seven pairs of eyes _stared_ at Jaune.

"WhaaaAAAAAAAATT!?" shook the halls of Beacon, echoing all the way to the edge of Vale itself.

End Chapter 2

* * *

 **OMAKE**

Jaune _GLARED_ at Ozpin from across his desk. The twitch under his eye growing more aggressive every second.

"You decided," Jaune said slowly, trying to reign in his emotions, "to make me an assistant professor. Of a combat class. Why?"

"Seeing as to the rather… complicated nature of your current situation, we have been back into an awkward corner." The man said, looking far to amused at their reaction. "Seeing as how you, Ms. Schnee, cannot exactly be classed as a typical student any more, we needed a way for you to stay in Beacon without raising any undue suspicion."

Qrow leered over at them from next to Ozpin. "You see, kiddo's, the world isn't exactly ready to learn the truth of the Maidens and Salem and Magic Ozzy." Said Magic Ozzy glared at the man, "But at the same time we need to keep you close."

The older huntsman took a moment to savor a drink from his flask.

Jaune felt his temper on the edge of bursting.

"There I was, thinking of how to solve all of Ozzyman's problems when it hits me," Qrow made a dramatic gesture, posing with his flask and face set it the picture of epiphany, "How do you hide a campfire in the forest? You set the forest on fire." Smiling to beat the band, Jaune felt his self-control short circuit.

"And so, kiddo, we're making you a professor." Qrow finished with another dramatic gesture.

Jaune slowly turned his withering gaze to Ozpin, seeing as how it had zero effect on Qrow. "And you agreed with this lunatic?" He asked, voice flat as Weiss's chest.

The Headmaster of Beacon Academy took a long, long drink from his mug, maintaining eye contact with Jaune the entire time.

"Meh. Pretty much. Welcome to Beacon, Professor Arc." Ozpin said, smiling as he set down his mug.

A good portion of Beacon's students were busy being lazy and enjoying the last few days before the return to class's and Port's lectures. Quite a few were out enjoying the pleasantly warm day, catching naps in the shade, playing games or sparing with one another in the sun, and even a few of the more studious one had text books out and were refreshing their minds for the coming semester.

*CRAAAAASSHHHHHH*

All activity in the area ground to a halt as many looked around in confusion.

"Look at the tower!" Someone shouted and every eye turned to the massive structure in the center of the academy to see one of the windows of Ozpin's office shatter and several objects fall through the air.

If one looked closely enough, or at least were near the impact zone, it would be noted that one of the objects was in fact Ozpin's desk, the other a ragged looking huntsman, and the last was Ozpin himself.

Those with a heightened sight may have made out the look of panic and rapturous laughter waring on the huntsman's face.

Ozpin, for all the world, looked unfazed as ever, sitting in his dick chair, one leg crossed over the other and sipping his coffee despite the fact that he was hurtling towards the ground.

Those with a heightened sense of hearing may have heard the headmaster mumble something about someone being over dramatic.

Back up at the top of the tower, Jaune watched the result of his work.

Weiss slowly walked up beside him and looked down the tower.

"I suppose that's one acceptable way to react." She said with a slight humph.

* * *

 **I apologize for the short ass chapter. It's been a crazy, long week and I've been exhausted.**

 **Did I use an omake to pad word count? yes. yes I did.**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this one, I have more coming, I promise. Hopefully in longer chapters instead of only 4k-ish ones.**

 **I will respond to any questions I get as soon as I can.**

 **And PLEASE, PLEASE! If I miss a detail pertaining to details in NttF, PLEASE let me know. I want this to be as accurate to Couer's work as possible.**

 **Thanks**


	3. Chapter 3

**ALRIGHT! C3!**

 **Again, thank you guys for all the support and feedback.**

 **So, lets get into this, I'll have a bit of a note list at the bottom.**

* * *

After Fate

Chapter Three

Home is where your gun is

* * *

 _A pale, shattered moon shone through the broken window as Jaune rushed past, the smell of smoke and blood filling his nostrils as he panted hard for breath. He had to get there. He had to reach her in time. He couldn't let her down. Not again. This was his last chance. Not again. Not again._

 _He screamed in fury as he slipped on the steps beneath his feet. His hands stretched out to catch himself as he half crawled up the stairs. Blood. His hands were covered in blood. He ignored it. He had to get to the top before he was too late. He heard a distant explosion and he lost his footing again. NO! He couldn't be late. Not again. Not again. He had to save her._

 _His lungs burned, it felt like he was swallowing fire. He ignored it. Almost there. Almost there. He could do it this time. He had to. This was his last chance. His last chance._

 _He could hear fighting above him. How much further? How many times had he made this climb? How many times had he been too late. Again and again and again._

 _His clothes clung to him, his shirt stained with blood. His hands drenched in blood. Almost there. Almost there._

 _The door! He'd made it. A surge of energy. The door slammed open. He'd done it. He'd saved her._

 _Saved who?_

 _Pyrrha?_

 _She wasn't there._

 _Weiss?_

 _She wasn't there!_

 _Where was she?_

 _He slowly walked out the door. Walked out onto the top of the tower. There was no one there._

 _He panted for breath. His lungs ached. Where was she?_

 _He looked back at the door. There was nothing there. He looked back behind him. There was nothing there._

 _He stood on a few squares of tiled floor but there was nothing else. No tower. No Pyrrha. No Weiss._

 _His heart lurched. He felt the floor beneath his feet crack._

 _He stared down into the abyss. There was nothing there._

 _Fear gripped his heart as panic tore through his mind._

" _Jaune!"_

 _There! There was someone there!_

 _Where were they? Who was calling?_

 _He wanted to scream but his voice was muted. He couldn't make a sound._

" _Jaune!"_

 _The floor shook and crumbled beneath him._

 _He was falling._

 _He reached out to grab. Grab what? There was nothing there. Grab something! There had to be something._

 _His hand tightened around something._

" _Jaune!"_

"Jaune!" Blake hissed, her voice as loud as a whisper allowed. Her golden eyes, shining in the dull light were filled will concern as she looked down at him.

Jaune drew a shuttered breath, wide eyed as he looked around. He was in their room, Weiss was asleep in the bed next to him, Yang on his other side.

He looked back at Blake as his nerves finally settled with the realization that they were safe.

"Jaune. It's okay. You're safe." Blake said softly, though her eyes were filled with worry. She was half sat on the edge of his bed, leaning over him with a hand on his shoulder as she tried to wake him.

A hand he realized he had a very tight grip of. He let go immediately, feeling a wave of guilt at the look of pain on her face as she massaged her wrist.

"Blake. I'm so sorry." He said with a raspy voice. Sitting up in bed, he reached one hand out to her but paused. "I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. You didn't hurt me, just caught me by surprise." Blake said, opening and closing her hand a few times. She looked back at him, "You were having another nightmare."

Jaune took another deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling a little lost and confused. He blinked a few times as the feelings faded and guilt came back to the fore.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." He said again, rubbing a hand over his face, noting the slight moisture in his eyes.

Blake laid a hand on his shoulder, eyes serious, "Jaune. It's fine. I'm okay. But you aren't." The way she said let him know she'd caught him. She leaned a little closer and stared into his eyes, "Please. Tell me what's wrong."

The sheer concern in her amber eyes had him looking away quickly, he'd seen that look before and it still tore at him. Even more so because his current mental state. It brought up every memory of him failing them. He struggled to clamp down on those memories and regain control.

"Jaune. Please." Blake begged, softly placing a hand on his cheek and forcing his eyes to meet hers.

Jaune caved.

"It was the tower. During the Fall. I was trying to reach the top to save…" He stopped himself, breaking eye-contact. "Save her from Cinder. I was trying to save her."

Blake's brow furrowed as she swallowed. "You were trying to reach Weiss." She said. She was about to say more before she realized something, "Jaune… We won. Beacon didn't fall. And Weiss killed Cinder."

Jaune opened his mouth, but then quickly closed it. "You're right. We won." The words tasted like ash in his mouth. They'd done it, so why was he back in the tower. Why was no one there.

"It's okay, Jaune." Blake said, tentatively drawing him into a short hug.

Jaune drew another breath. It was a simple gesture, from anyone else it wouldn't mean much, but from his team, it meant so much. From Blake, it meant more.

"Thank you, Blake. Thank you." He said, returning the gesture with one arm.

Blake broke the embrace and sat back to look at him again, her eyes roving over his face for a moment. "That's what family is for." She said gently, "Do you want to talk?"

Jaune gave her a grateful smile before swinging his legs off the edge of his bed. "I'll be ok. I just need some air." He said lowly.

"Okay. Just don't stay up too late. We're supposed to go into Vale tomorrow." She said before slipping back into her own bed.

Jaune nodded as he slipped out the door without making a sound.

* * *

Blake waited a full ten seconds before following, just enough time for him not to hear the door opening. Slipping between the shadows as she followed Jaune down the hallways. She'd been a trained infiltrator for a terrorist organization before choosing this new life, she knew how to stay out of sight. How to lower her breathing and keep her footsteps soft.

She knew all about mistakes and regrets, waking up to haunting memories. The need to step out for a moment and take a breath, to steady yourself before continuing.

One of the mistakes that burned the deepest had been how she'd ignored her team leader's nightmares.

At first, she'd pretended not to notice. Tried to tell herself it wasn't her problem.

Then he'd saved her life.

Then he'd protected her and the team.

Again, and again. How many times had he nearly sacrificed himself for them? Five, six times?

Blake shook her head clear and kept up with Jaune, careful not to get too close or look directly at him. His sixth sense was way beyond anyone else she'd met before. At times, she half wondered if it was his semblance.

After five minutes of walking and a few flights of stairs, Jaune stepped through one of the roof accesses and the door closed softly behind him with a click.

Blake cursed silently. She debated going back and waking Weiss, but Jaune would probably move before she got back.

That look in his eyes when she'd woken him wouldn't leave her mind. He'd looked terrified. She couldn't ever remember him looking like that. Scared, yes. When his family had been attacked by Neo, he'd been scared, but he'd been scared for them.

" _I was trying to save her."_ His words made her swallow hard. Why had he said it like that? Why did he sound like he thought he had failed.

Blake took a deep breath and moved to the door, carefully opening it and wincing at the light that pour out from behind her. So much for being stealthy. Quietly, she moved through and closed it behind her as she stepped out onto the roof.

She spotted Jaune a moment later, sitting near the edge and looking out over the campus.

Blake had never been one for confrontations, usually running away in the heat of the moment. She'd ran away from Adam and she'd ran away from her team. One had hunted her down to punish her, the other to save her.

Jaune had literally burned down the docks to save her life, causing god knows how much lien in property damage in the process. He'd gone and found the White Fang in Mountain Glen and cleared almost the entire train while drugged. Then to top it all off, he'd gone and crashed a Griffon through the cafeteria and proceeded to duel Adam without a second thought, and he won. Something Blake had once thought neigh impossible. He'd done it all to save her. To save them.

Blake had to wonder what could possess someone to act the way Jaune did.

She took another deep breath before taking a step towards him. When he showed no signs of moving, she took another, then another until she was at the edge of the roof, but a few feet to his left.

She slowly sat down, looking at Jaune's face for any reaction. She didn't say anything, instead opting to simply be there, watching out over Beacon.

They sat on one of the higher roofs, overlooking the North East quarter of the campus.

It was a peaceful view, Blake decided, watching the moon slowly make its way across the sky. The way the spires of the school stood silhouetted against the stars. It was unique in a way; the constellations were slightly different from the ones back home, but she could still pick out a few familiar ones. She remembered laying out on the roof of her bedroom for hours, sometimes with her mom, trying to count the stars. A small smile turned her lips at the memories.

She glanced at Jaune, watching him for a moment. His eyes were fixed somewhere on the middle distance, though she could see them flicker down to another roof entrance on the building. For a moment his eyes would focus, but then blur back out and he'd return to looking at nothing in particular.

He didn't say anything, so neither did she. She just sat there along with him. The air was still warm at this hour, a soft breeze washing the scents of the forest up to them as they sat there.

There so many things she wanted to ask him. So many things that didn't make sense; either in his attitude and behavior, or in his abilities. The things he said sometimes and his reactions to events. It bugged her like nothing else.

Yet she didn't try to push him for answers. The one time they had, it had ended with more confusion and Jaune leaving in anger and hurt.

Yea, that one still made zero sense to her. Their reasoning that it was simply nightmares rang a little hollow compared to the hurt in his eyes.

She stilled a little as he gave a ragged breath and stood up, turning away from the ledge and walking back to the exit door. Blake followed softly as he paused at the door. She gave him a small smile as he held the door open behind him, waiting for her to follow.

Jaune still hadn't said anything by the time they reached their room, but as Blake lay back down in her bed, she heard him whisper "Thank you." She smiled.

Blake had never been a social person, nor one who was good at emotional support. Sometimes though, just being there could mean the world to someone.

She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Morning came and went, and most of team Jazzberry ignored it.

Weiss rolled out of bed at the crack of eleven o'clock to hear the shower running. She gave a deep yawn, holding a hand before her mouth as she did so. Feeling a little more awake, she looked around the room.

It looked about the same as it always did in the morning. The bed two one away from her occupied by Yang, who was currently a ball of golden hair sticking out from under a pile of pillows, sheets in complete disarray and sounding like an angle grinder.

Blake, in stark contrast, was sleeping silently on her side and her bed looking much neater than Yang's.

Jaune's bed was empty, his sheets thrown back and his coat laying at the foot.

Everything was normal.

Save for the large, black duffle bag at the foot of Jaune's bed.

Weiss shook her head and let hair fall over her eyes a little. Something she had never done before, at least, not before she'd taken the maidens powers.

It was a strange feeling sometimes. Like a dream almost, knowing you'd always done something one way, then thinking you used to do it another. Or in her case, knowing that someone else had done it another way, but that person was also kind of you. But not really you….

And it was too early for that level of meta thinking, Weiss decided, blowing some hair out from in front of her face.

She ran both hands through her hair to pull it back behind her and tucked it behind her ears. Swiveling her body, she let her legs hang off the edge of the bed, feeling the cold air creep up her legs. She yawned again as she heard the shower shut off and Jaune's voice on the other side of the door as he hummed some tune.

Weiss opened her dresser drawer and pulled out a change of clothes for the day, setting them aside and picking up her scroll. She had a message from Winter and she quickly opened it, happy to hear from her sister.

 _Dear Sister, I hope all is well with you._

 _Things have been busy here in Atlas, though running smoothly. General Ironwood sends his regards as well._

 _Till next time,_

 _Winter._

Weiss smiled and sent a reply.

The bathroom door opened and Jaune emerged. His hair was wet and lanky, falling down and almost covering his eyes, he mumbled something about needing a haircut as he moved across the room to throw his dirty clothes in his hamper.

Weiss watched as he moved, noting how his white t-shirt fit snugly and showed off his lean muscles. While far from being muscle bound, Jaune's physique was not in question. His muscles were toned and defined, and his movements were smooth and fluid.

And she felt her face flush.

"Morning, Princess." He said with a grin as he noticed her watching, "See something you like?" He flexed his biceps dramatically and made a grr face.

Weiss rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at him, "If you do that again, I'm dumping you." She threatened as he caught the pillow with one hand.

"Oh, would you now." He said as he suddenly stalked towards her.

Her eyes widened and she let out a gasp as she tried to retreat, forgetting momentarily that she was sitting down and half fell backwards.

Jaune took three large steps and he was almost on top of her, leaned over so he had a hand on either side of her head and his face less than a foot away.

Weiss stared wide eyed at him as she covered her mouth one hand as she blushed under his gaze. She could feel the heat from the shower rolling off him, pine mixing with some scented shampoo. She felt powerless as she stared up at him, his soft gold hair framing his face as deep blue eyes staring down in to her.

Her heart beat a million miles an hour as he slowly lowered his head, muscles flexing as the supported his weight. Weiss knew she was bright red, judging by the feel of her face and the look on Jaune's face. He smiled a wide, happy smile and his eyes danced with light as he got closer and closer.

He stopped with his lips only an inch away from hers, "Are you really sure you'd do that?" He asked, making his voice a little deeper, his breath ghosting over her skin.

Weiss was still struggling to make coherent thoughts and only one came to mind as she leaned up to peck him on the lips, smiling herself as he laughed and stood back up, leaving her laying there on the bed.

"Don't make threats you aren't willing to go through with." He said with a grin as he turned and sat down on his bed, pulling the duffle bag around from the end.

"I really hate it when you do that." She said, shooting him a glare before pushing herself back up to a sitting position.

Jaune just chuckled to himself.

Weiss stood up and grabbed her clothes, pausing for a second to flick him on the nose before heading to the bathroom to change.

A few minutes later she came back out to see Jaune sat on his bed and fiddling with his coat. She walked back to her bed and sat down, "What are you doing to your coat?" She asked, one eyebrow raised as she noticed a needle and thread between his teeth.

"Modifying it." He said around the thread.

"Why?" She asked, picking up a comb and running it through her hair.

"Cause it needs to be modified."

Weiss raised an eyebrow at him. Noticing the open bag at his feet, she glanced inside before pulling out a small handgun. Her other eyebrow matched the first one.

"Why are sewing a holster into you coat?" She asked, seeing a black fabric holster he was currently attaching to the inside of his coat. "Also, where did you even get this?"

"Ozpin gave it to me." Jaune said, ignoring the other questions as he continued his task.

"Ozpin gave you a gun." Weiss said, a deadpan look on her face.

"Well, technically. He gave me full access to the Requisition room and the Armory." He said, taking the needle out of his mouth and stitching the holster into place.

Weiss narrowed her eyes, "Jaune. Why are you packing a gun, you don't use one in class. Do you even know how to use one?"

Jaune reached over and took the pistol from her, a standard issue handgun used by most police and military. He swiftly pushed in the release pin and disassembled it, pulling the slide and barrel from the lower frame.

"Yea, I can use one. I'm not half bad with it either."

Weiss blinked, "Who taught you? And why are you carrying one now?" She asked, still confused.

"A dear friend." He said softly, his words clueing Weiss in on just what he meant, "And I'm carrying now because… Well, I don't want to get caught out. She always said, 'Home is where your gun is.'"

Weiss hummed, figuring it must have been Ruby who taught him. She could see some sense as to why he wanted to carry as well, being unarmed or unprepared had always been deadly, and anymore, that seemed doubly true.

Jaune hummed in response to her, reassembling the handgun and setting it back in the bag.

"Have you giving any thought about your new class?" She asked, changing the subject, not quite willing to ruin the good mood this early in the day.

Jaune groaned, "Yea, I think I've got something that'll work. One that Miss Goodwitch should approve of anyways. I'm gonna run it by her tomorrow after the big announcement from Oz."

"I'm sure you'll do fine." Weiss said, "Assuming everyone remembers how you used to act, I'm sure there are at least one or two how want to learn from you."

Jaune grimaced. "I'm not sure I really want to be remembered for most of my early actions."

Weiss grimaced this time, Jaune had left quite the impression on Beacon, and not one of the best ones either. Half the students that had _heard_ of him thought he was a joke, and the other half that had _seen_ him were terrified of him.

"What do you have planned?" Weiss asked, honestly curious as to what kind of insanity her partner intended bring upon the school. If only to know when to be absent from class.

Jaune grinned a little as he threw on his coat, "Hide and seek." He said as he holstered the pistol, hiding it completely from sight.

Weiss gave him a flat glare, not sure why she was surprised at his answer.

Jaune grinned back, "As a Professor, I fear I am unable to discuss upcoming class material and exercises with students outside of class."

Weiss hit him with a pillow.

* * *

An hour later saw the teams of RRNN and JWBY standing in one of the dorm building exits and looking towards the bullhead docks.

"Well this sucks." Yang said with a pout, staring out at the torrential downpour happening at the moment. She stuck her hand out from under the small awning as the rain hammered down.

Ruby looked out dejectedly, her shoulders sagging and pouted fiercely at the sky, "Oh come on. We were supposed to have fun." She said as she kicked one foot against the ground, "Stupid clouds."

Pyrrha patted her on the shoulder, "I'm sure we can find something to do inside today. We can go into Vale next weekend." The champion said, tring to perk up her leader.

"Oh, oh! I know what we can do!" Nora said, hopping up and down. "How about we wage a massive pillow war in the halls! We could even claim it as some super special training exercise!"

"Nora, I don't think Miss Goodwitch would like that." Ren said.

"But Renny! Pillow war!" Nora pleaded, suddenly hanging off of Ren's arm.

Jaune looked back outside, he pulled his phone out for a moment. "The bullheads are still flying." He said, "Not like a little rain ever killed anyone."

"Maybe not you." Yang muttered, thinking of how long it'd take to get her hair back into proper order.

"We do all have rain gear." Blake pointed out.

Ruby shot her sister her patented puppy dog eyes, causing Yang to sigh. "Fine. But I get first dibs on the shower when we get back."

Ruby and Nora cheered as everyone went back for their gear.

* * *

Jaune walked beside Wiess as they walked through the wet streets of Vale. The rest of their friends walking a little ahead as they dodged the puddles, or in Nora and Ruby's case, trying to make the biggest splash possible at every opportunity.

"You'd think they were five years old." Weiss said, watching the two hyper huntresses' in training. She sidestepped a puddle and looked around at the city.

"Be nice." Jaune said, chuckling as he walked.

He'd always enjoyed the rain, or at least as far back as he could remember. The way it smelled and renewed the world calmed him down and simply listening to it falling eased his mind. In a life of constant death and destruction, it was a welcome reprieve.

Maybe he just liked it because the last time he'd died, he'd died in an inferno.

The downtown area the students walked through was mostly empty, most people not feeling adventurous enough to brave the weather.

Vale had changed, Jaune noted, with the majority of the damage being fixed. At least in the higher traffic areas. You could still see signs of it; businesses with boards on their windows, or 'out of business' signs hanging on their doors. Of the few people out and about, there was a certain nervous nature to their walk. They'd twitch at loud noises or look around suddenly. Jaune wondered how many had lost their loved ones in the attack.

The arcade was still open when they arrived, with a dozen or so others playing on the systems, seeking an outlet for their energy much the same as them.

The two teams split up, heading to their favorite games, checking to see if their scores were still top of the leader boards.

Yang was still the undisputed king of any of the strength related games, with Nora nipping at her heals. Ren's user name claimed second on all the DDR machines, and Pyrrha ruled the pinball tables. Something Jaune had shot the Champion a suspicious eye for when she'd cleaned out his high score by several million points.

Weiss had never been one for arcades, honestly never having been to one before, but she found herself at least amused as she faced off against Jaune in a game of air hockey. She let out a laugh when Yang slapped Jaune on the back and made him miss the puck, scoring a goal for the white-haired Maiden.

Jaune's threats of vengeance against Yang were lost as Weiss scored another goal while he was distracted, causing his attention to snap back to the game. Dark blue eyes narrowed as they both picked up the tempo, the orange disk slamming from one side of the table to the other at high speed.

Nora joined Yang at the side of the tabled to watch the match, a box of candy in one hand and a string of tickets tucked into her pocket. Ruby and Pyrrha were the next to join the audience, Ruby with an elastic sticky hand and Pyrrha wearing a plastic crown. Ren and Blake joined them last, both breathing heavy after a furious match on one of the DDR games.

Jaune held a tight defensive against Weiss, never moving too far from his goal area. Weiss moved her paddle a little more freely, using her speed to her advantage to make precise shots against Jaune's defenses. The sound of 8bit techno was punctuated by the sharp staccato of plastic against plastic as the two contenders battled it out.

Jaune finally made a bank shot past Weiss and scored, earning a round of cheers from the group.

Weiss retaliated with a blur of speed, forcing Jaune to hunker down on his goal to protect it from the ever-changing assault.

The timer ticked down into the single digits as sweat beaded on Jaune's brow, he picked up the pace, suddenly going on the attack and forcing Weiss to defend.

The buzzer sounded just as Weiss missed the puck, Jaune grinning as his shot hit his target and bounced into Weiss goal.

His grin fell when the scoreboard failed to recognize his shot, still showing Weiss as having one point on him.

"Oh, tough luck Dad. Looks like you lose." Yang said, wrapping an arm around Weiss, causing her to yelp as Yang lifted her with in a one-armed hug.

Jaune stuck his tongue out at her and grumbled about favorites.

Ruby challenged Jaune to a shoot off in a Grimm hunting game as Pyrrha and Weiss moved over to skee ball.

"Are you having fun?" Ruby asked as she fed a few credits into the machine.

Jaune grabbed one of the guns and took a stance, "Hmm?" He asked, looking over at the shorter girl.

"I asked if you were having fun." Ruby said again, slightly louder to be heard over the sound of the game.

"I suppose." Jaune said, watching Ruby from the corner of his eye as she looked at the screen pensively.

Ruby shot the first monster that popped up, "Oh. Would you rather be somewhere else?" She asked.

Jaune raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out where Ruby was going with this. "Not really," He said, "I didn't really have any plans for the day. It has been a while since I've had a chance to hang out."

"Well, as long as you're having fun." Ruby said, shooting him a smile.

Jaune chuckled as he reached over and rubbed her hair, earning a cry of embarrassment from her and causing her to miss her shot.

He laughed at her betrayed look.

* * *

Three pizzas, twelve large sodas and many tokens later, the two teams geared back up in their rain slickers and prepared to head back to Beacon. Jaune glanced over at Ren, who was wearing the look of a man being sent to the slammer. Jaune knew exactly what the cause was too.

He sidled over and bumped him on the elbow, "Don't look so down. Ruby only had two of those sodas." He said, grinning as Ren gave him the stink eye.

"Nora had six." Ren replied with a shudder.

Jaune smiled back, "Oh you'll survive." He said, clapping a hand on his old teammates shoulder. "She'll only be awake for the next thirty-two hours or so."

Ren glared at him again, knowing Jaune was responsible for at least some of his coming lack of sleep.

Weiss sighed as Jaune made his way back over to her, "That was cruel." She said as they walked together.

"Oh, he'll survive." Jaune said, watching the other try and keep up with both Ruby and Nora on a sugar high. "One time, Nora got ahold of a case of Blue Rabbit energy drinks."

Weiss looked disturbed, "Oh my god." She said softly, imagining the carnage.

"It took a week to put out the forest fire." Jaune said, shuddering at the memory, "On the upside, there wasn't a single Grimm sighting around Vale for a whole month."

Weiss was silent for a moment, trying to figure out if Jaune was messing with her or not. His reaction sure hadn't given her the impression he was lying.

"Why is everyone we know insane? In all honesty, Pyrrha is the only sane one of us all." Weiss said, wondering for the second time in two days just which god she'd pissed off in her last life.

"Is she really sane if she hangs out with us?" Jaune asked.

Weiss opened her mouth to say something but closed it quickly and stopped on the sidewalk.

Jaune paused as well, looking around quickly for whatever caught Weiss's attention. He looked up and down the street but didn't see anything, save for the occasional car.

Weiss cocked her head to the side and looked down the alley they stood next to. Slowly, she took a step down it.

"Weiss." Jaune said, suddenly on edge. "Weiss, where are you going?"

Weiss looked over her shoulder and shushed him, walking another step down the narrow side road.

Jaune swallowed and took a step after her, looking around for any signs of trouble as he slowly opened his coat a little.

Weiss walked a few more steps down the alley before stooping next to a dumpster. "Jaune!" She said with a small cry.

* * *

Yang walked along side the rest of the group, not really having noticed Jaune and Weiss stopping earlier. With her hair protected by the hood on her rain slicker, she was able to at least enjoy a little of day. The arcade had been a blast and it seemed like everyone had fun.

"So, P-money." She said, sidling up to the taller girl, "You ready for the new semester?"

Pyrrha smiled over at her, "Yes, I'm sure it's going to be an interesting year. Especially with Jaune working as a teacher." She said, laughing a little, "I can't imagine how the Headmaster pulled that one off."

Yang laughed along, "Yea, that had to be an interesting conversation."

"And having your uncle as an instructor is sure to be an experience."

"Just bring him a bottle of high end booze and you'll get an easy A." Yang said, watching Ruby and Nora half a block ahead.

"Is your uncle really that lax?" Ren asked from the other side of Pyrrha.

Yang took a moment to think, "Eh… It's a perspective thing."

Ren gave her a deadpan look.

"I mean, if you're looking to get your homework back with an accurate grade on it. Or any kind of student/teacher feedback, you're out of luck." Yang elaborated, "But as far as a teacher who's gonna actually teach you something useful? Yea, there ain't a lot that can do it better. He usually only has two or five injured students per month."

"I am seriously reconsidering my choice in schools." Pyrrha said.

"I am seriously reconsidering the mental stability of the faculty." Ren added.

Yang just laughed. Yea, Uncle Qrow could be downright unorthodox, but she'd learned a lot about bring a huntress from him. Ruby had learned almost everything. Jaune was sure to bring some interesting things to the table as well.

Speaking of Jaune, she glanced around their group, noting the absence of him and Weiss.

She checked her scroll, only to find a message from Weiss stating that the two would meet them back at the dorm. With a shrug, she turned her attention back to the conversation as it shifted to upcoming classes and field trips.

It was looking like an interesting year to be sure.

CHAPTER END

* * *

 **So, I know I have a decent amount of spelling and grammatical errors, and I do apologize. I will be trying to get a beta for spell checking if I can figure out how to use this site correctly. In other words, if anyone is looking for something to do, I'd be interested in talking to you in private.**

 **This was another short chapter, but the pacing felt decent to me, (not sure how it is to you guys) and didn't want to get into my next one too much just yet. I do have a plan for this, it just might end up being like chasing a coked up squirrel through a house of mirrors.**

 **In any case, thank you guys again.**

 **-Jim**


	4. Chapter 4

**HEEERRRRREEEEE'SSSS JIMMY!**

 **ALright. Round FOur! I AM still in this thIng.**

 **Again, a massive thank you for everyone who's commented, favorited and followed. Got to say, one of the coolest things is having my phone go off during the day and seeing someone follow/favorited this thing. It really does make my day.**

* * *

After Fate

Chapter 4

No Rest for the ... I really need to get better at title naming

BETA: ErenJaerger17

* * *

Yang checked her scroll again, it'd been at least an hour since they'd gotten back from Vale. She'd already showered and was currently hanging out in Ruby's room, sitting on the floor with the others while playing a board game with team RRNN. And absolutely crushing the other players in a heated game of Remnant.

Still no word back from Jaune or Weiss.

She wasn't worried, it wasn't like either of them were pushovers so that ruled out something bad happening.

She checked her news feed just to be sure.

Yup. No news flash about half of Vale being on fire or blown up. Meh, they were probably busy being mushy on each other. _So much missed blackmail_ , she thought with a sigh.

"Goliath stampede. Twice." She said casually, turning her attention back to the game and tossing two cards down.

The dual outcry of "SON-OF-A-BITCH!" Echoed down the hallway as Yang steamrolled a good part of Ren and Ruby's armies in one move. She grinned as she moved her little Grimm figurines onto the battlefield, displacing the troops that the other two had been carefully maneuvering around each other in small skirmishes for control of a dust mine.

Ah… It was good to be Queen.

"Hey Nora," Yang said with a grin, "You sure you don't want to consider that alliance?"

"I shall NEVER bow before one such as you, Fire Dragon Queen!" Nora declared in a pompous voice, "Especially when you refuse to acknowledge my proper title and have spat upon my most loyal of subjects."

"Nora, I attacked and burned half your territory three turns ago," Ren said, trying to consolidate his remaining forces to contend with the fact he now had an ancient Grimm in his territory AND had just lost access to a rather important resource, "I am not your subject."

"Your past transgressions have been forgiven, loyal subject." Nora said, ignoring him.

Pyrrha chewed her lip and glanced between Yang's forces and the rather ominous number of Valkyrie soldiers threatening her border.

She leaned over and whispered something to Ruby, who was running the Atlas Cookie Federation. Ruby listened for a moment before nodding.

Clearing her throat, Ruby spoke up, "On behalf of the ACF and with the support of Her Royal Highness, Pyrrha of Vacuo, I hereby request a convention of the Kingdoms in response to the uprising of this Grimm threat." Ruby pause for breath, holding one hand out dramatically, "Will you, King Ren of Vale, and you, the Holy Goddess of Pancakes, join us. Will you stand with us, against this horde as a united front?"

"You instigated a civil uprising in my capitol last turn." Ren said, looking at his cards, "So that's gonna be a no from me."

Ruby winced, slightly regretting her earlier play.

"I shall not make biscuits with the one who caused a flour shortage in my kingdom!" Nora declared, "Release the kraken!"

Said monster promptly attacked Ruby's small fleet, taking out many of her ships and crippling her sea defenses.

"NOOOoooo. My beautiful ships." Ruby wailed as she watched her naval forces being removed from the board.

Nora cackled and sent forces into Ruby's land via sea, placing the red headed reaper in the precarious position of a three-sided war, with Yang's Grimm threatening to overrun the northern half of her country.

Pyrrha contemplated her cards, "I suppose I must assist my ally. Emergency supply drop." She said, placing the card down and patting Ruby on the back. "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll consider it after a few more turns."

Yang grinned and studied her cards, enjoying the game as much as the comradery. Ruby had really grown up in the last year, becoming Team Leader had forced her to be more confident in talking to others and standing behind her decisions.

But she still had a long way to go if she ever hoped of beating her big sis in _any_ game.

Yang figured she'd changed a bit herself, getting to step away from being the mother figure from back home. It was refreshing, honestly, to not really have to worry about waking Ruby up for school, doing the dishes after meals, or any of the other chores and tasks she'd taken upon herself to learn and handle.

She loved Ruby to death, make no mistake; but here, she could kick back a little. Here she could make new friends and be the immature one when it suited her while still being close to Ruby.

It wasn't what she'd expected from Beacon, but she wouldn't trade it for the world.

For all their dramatics, Yang could say with confidence that she was completely happy with her team. It was a thought that brought a smile to her face.

It was replaced with a downright shit-eating grin when she saw that Nora hadn't checked her negativity counter in a few turns and was now open for a massive Grimm invasion.

Who ever said ruling the world was hard?

* * *

The rain had finally started to relent, slowing down to the occasional drop against the library window. The sun was beginning to peak out from behind the clouds and marked the time as somewhere in the later afternoon.

Blake had found a comfortable spot in the library, tucked in a corner near the windows where a small group of chairs and a maroon sofa were arranged. Sat sideways on the sofa, she had claimed the spot soon after arriving back from Vale with her new book.

The sun falling on her back provided a lovely warmth on her shoulders as she perused the volume, a bit of shadow falling across the book in her lap made for the optimal reading area.

The library was quiet for the most part, with very few students making use of the massive place. The lack of activity made it seem as if she had the whole place to herself.

While she didn't mind reading in her room, the team's normal antics - Yang - did make actually having a little time to herself an enjoyable experience.

Blake softly turned the page, one knee bent to support the book and cup of tea on the table beside her.

Some might have said her taste in reading was a little off, but she disagreed. If anything, she could admit it was an acquired taste, as the subject material could be downright drole at times, but she judged the knowledge she gleaned from it to be worth the grind.

 _Understanding Trauma and Loss_ had come highly recommended, and she could see why. It didn't paint all people the same and in fact suggested the reader should be very cautious to prevent accidentally dismissing or alienating someone they were trying to help.

Blake skimmed the table of contents again, looking up the page she was interested in the most. She found it and flicked over to it, reading the opening line to herself. _Many symptoms of PTSD are rooted in our bodies natural Fight or Flight reaction to danger, though taken to an extreme level. Keeping this in mind this can be important to understanding our own or another person's trauma._

Blake went down the list of of the most defined and recognizable displays of PTSD. Jaune fit one or two at times, and there was no doubt that _something_ had happened, it was simply that there was zero evidence of it.

His sisters couldn't think of any events in his childhood, they'd even looked through the local papers from years back trying to find something. They'd found nothing, not ever a report of a Grimm sighting before the one that had attacked them.

It was Coral's words that had stuck with Blake the most, back during the festival when she, Yang and Sun had talked to Coral and her sister about Jaune.

Coral had said Jaune's change had been instantaious. He'd simply woken up one morning and was changed, 'broken', as Coral had less than politely put it.

But people didn't just break. There had to have been something.

Something that would explain it all and make everything make sense.

Why Jaune acted so protective of them. Why he would, without a single shred of hesitation, put his life on the line for people he'd only known for a few months.

And for how he always seemed to know every little thing about them. It was honestly more than a little irritating, it was down right infuriating at times.

His constant jabs at her and her past when they'd first been teamed up. He'd known, and she knew he'd known she knew. True, he'd met her on the train, but that just seemed to add to her confusion. He hadn't told the staff about her, or the security guards when they arrived in the city.

He'd let her go, just like that.

Then she'd panicked when he showed up in Beacon of all places.

Then she ran away when he'd spoke about the White Fang, calling them worse than the Grimm.

Then he hijacked a bullhead and burned down the docks to save her.

 _Why is my team leader so complicated?_ She mentally vented, remembering the emotional roller coaster they had all been through in their first year.

Blake knew herself well enough to recognize her reaction to a traumatic experience leaned further towards the flight side of natural reactions. She accepted it, even if she was even trying to change that a little.

Jaune, on the other hand, _dealt_ with his issues. He didn't run away, he stood his ground and quite frankly either worked around his problems, or made them go away. Permanently.

 _Arghhh. Dammit Jaune. Why do you make so little sense._ She thought to herself, a frown pulling on her face.

And his stupid lines about knowing the future and time travel.

She wasn't seven, thank you. She could handle the truth, if he'd ever give it to them.

She pulled out her scroll for a distraction, flipping through her messages and typed out a quick one to Sun. He'd be a welcome distraction right now, _and isn't that a strange thought_ , she sighed.

Blake sipped her tea and turned back to the book, trying to focus on what it had to say once more. A little more on the various signs others exhibited could possibly be applied to her team leader, though one stood out as a little strange.

 _Hyperarousal: Being jumpy or on edge. Being irritated or prone to outbursts of anger. Having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep._

Of that one, Jaune didn't seem to exhibit signs of. He wasn't easily irritated or quick to anger, in fact, he seemed far more amused by just about anything they said or did. When he was angry, he always had at least something of a decent reason to be.

He definitely wasn't on edge, giving how little he even acknowledged anyone outside their team or his family.

As for falling asleep, he had no problem with that at the start of Beacon. It was only when the attack had drawn closer, and when she'd dragged him out to hunt the White Fang that he'd stopped constantly napping.

His nightmares though, those were what concerned her the most. He didn't wake up, he just suffered through them, trapped in a personal hell.

Her scroll buzzed, pulling her attention away from the book. It was from Sun and had a picture attached. Sun was holding the camera while his teammate's were lounging in their dorm in the background.

 _Guess who made top marks and is in the top ten of Haven!_ The caption stated. Given Sun's grin and the smiles on his teammates, they must have gotten their score recently.

Blake smiled to herself and typed back, _Congrats, I'm sure you did it completely fairly and honestly._

Still grinning, she waited for the response. Sure enough, less than ten seconds later, her scroll pinged again.

It was a close up of Sun's face, with the camera angled upwards. His nose filled the lower screen and his eyes were narrowed in a mock imperious expression. _Are you suggesting that I am not an honest faunus?_ was the caption, scrolled out under his nose.

Blake suppressed her laugh in one hand, _Of course not. But you do have a giant booger._

She set her phone down again, only for it to go off almost immediately. This time it was from Neptune, _That was really mean._

Blake failed to keep her laugher down this time.

* * *

Jaune sighed as he held the dorm room door open for Weiss, "Are you really sure you want to do this? There are other people better equipped to handle this sort of thing." He said, following her in as she made a beeline for the bathroom.

"Are you suggesting I would be incompetent at taking care of her?" Weiss shot back, pausing for a second to shuck her raincoat off onto the floor.

"Of course not, this just seems a too much too suddenly." He replied, deflecting her quick glare by holding his hands up, "All I'm saying is, it'd probably have a better life somewhere else."

"We shall see." Weiss huffed, flicking her hair over her shoulder and opened the bathroom door, flipping on the light. "But first, we need to wash her up a little, the poor thing is freezing."

Weiss turned on the tap in the large sink along the wall, letting the water heat up. Say what you would about the sometimes cramped bedroom, the bathroom of their dorm room was at least spacious. It had multiple nooks and shelves for putting personal care items and plenty of space for towels under the sink.

Yang had taken to conveying death threats via permanent marker on all of her haircare products, lest someone use them.

The sink itself was large, with a linoleum counter that spanned a good three and a half feet length and over half that in width, giving plenty of room for four peoples nightly items. Something Jaune was more than glad for, given that he lived with three girls.

So many hair brushes, combs and enough hairspray to level a small building.

Jaune took a step forward and put a hand on her shoulder, "Hold up. If you're going to do this, do it right. You'll kill it if you rush." He stooped down and pulled out a medium sized towel from under the sink and held it out.

Weiss paused and nodded, holding out small bundle she had clutched to her chest. A soft mewing came from the bundle as it was shifted.

Weiss bit her lip a little as she watched Jaune carefully wrap a little kitten in the warm towel, taking care not to harm the small thing.

"Where did you learn to care for kittens?" She asked, watching as Jaune sat down on the closed toilet and gently began to warm it up and dry off the rain water.

"Ruby once found a momma cat on campus after it had its litter. She demanded help in taking care of them until they could be adopted." Jaune said, holding the kitten with one hand while running the towel down it's back and working around it's ears. "Nora immediately wanted to keep one, and no one else really knew anything about how to care for one, so I learned a bit and helped take care of it."

Weiss gave a soft sound of surprise, "Oh… I've… never had a pet before. Zwei was really the first time I've had any kind of pet around." She said, slowly reaching her hand out towards the kitten and running her hand across it's head.

It mewed softly, looking around the room. Weiss's heart, sometimes said to be colder than a blizzard in Mantle, promptly melted into a pile of goo.

Jaune smiled softly, "Let's give it a bath." He said, moving over and checking the water temperature, adjusting it slightly to make it comfortable for what he'd guess to be a eight or nine week old kitten.

Weiss watched as Jaune carefully ran water over the little thing, washing off the dirt and mud from the dumpster it had been hiding under. The kitten seemed to perk up a little in the warm water, it's shivering coming to a stop as it relaxed in Jaune's hold.

To Weiss's surprise, it didn't seem bothered by being in the water as much as she thought it would. She said as much as Jaune ran his fingers between its toes to wash out the mud.

"Blake isn't the best example of how cats normally act."

Weiss's palm made a satisfying echo in the tiled bathroom as it bounced off his head.

Jaune laughed a little, taking the kitten and wrapping it in a new towel that Weiss handed him and began rubbing it down again. A soft purring was soon heard as the kitten began to rub against Jaune's hand.

The kitten looked considerably better now that it was clean. It had short, bright white fur with darker stripes and small, circular patterns that ran down it's sides. It's tail had black rings ending in a black tip. It's large ears were curled down just a little, giving it a perpetually dejected look.

For the first time, Weiss noticed it actually had heterochromatic eyes, one being a bright orange color while the other was a deep blue with black flecks.

Weiss cooed as she rubbed it's head, earning a purr and more cooing from Weiss.

Jaune smothered his mirth at the scene.

It was cute, he had to admit, with it's white and black striped coat and dual colored eyes. That, and the way it curled up in the towel against his chest. Damnit if he wasn't a sucker for cute animals.

He softly handed it over to Weiss, switching spots with her so she could cuddle it a little.

He drained the water from the sink, not seeing anything that might resemble mites or fleas, thankfully. Though it wouldn't hurt to have the thing looked at by a vet as soon as possible.

"You'll have to get it some wet food for it as soon as possible," Jaune said as he sat on the side of the bath, "It probably is eating solid foods just fine, but it'll need wet food for kitten. Best bet for now would be getting some unseasoned chicken from the kitchen. That'll at least get it through tonight."

Weiss just nodded along, gently playing with the kitten as it purred in her lap.

Jaune stood up and rinsed his hands off in the sink, "I didn't take you as a cat person," He said, "I wonder what Zwei will think about you replacing him so quickly."

"Oh shush. I'm not replacing Zwei, I'm adding to the family." Weiss said, rubbing the kitten's stomach as it gnawed on her hand, growling cutely. "And how could anyone not love something so small and precious."

"Say that again when you step in its turd one morning." Jaune grinned at the grimace that flashed across Weiss's face.

"She's gonna be potty trained. And leash trained." Weiss said, quickly moving on to a different subject.

"Who said we're keeping it anyways?"

"The Maiden capable of smiting you."

Jaune rolled his eyes, "Alright. As you say, my fair Maiden, I shall take my leave now." He said, sweeping one hand back and bowing at the waist.

He was out the door before Weiss could summon an icicle to throw at him.

* * *

Blake walked into the room as the sun was setting outside the window. A quick glance showed Jaune lounging on his bed and playing with his scroll, already in his sleeping clothes.

She pulled off her bow and set it aside, letting her ears twitch around in the open air for a moment.

"Ready for tomorrow?" She asked, setting her book down on her little shelf at the end of her bed before moving to get her yukata and fresh underwear.

Jaune grunted, apparently still not thrilled with his new position and upcoming responsibilities.

"You'll do fine. Tomorrow should be an easy day." Blake said heading to the bathroom.

"Weiss is in there." Jaune said, glancing up from his scroll.

Blake paused at the door, knocking once to prevent any embarrassment.

"It's unlocked." Weiss said from the other side.

Blake's ears twitched at a strange sound coming from the other side, but with permission given, she opened the door. Weiss was sitting cross legged on the floor with something small and white running around her.

Jaune winced at the high pitched sound that came from Blake as she vanished into the bathroom and accidently left a clone standing in the doorway.

Letting out a suffering sigh, he put his scroll away and rolled under the covers, smushing a pillow on top of his head as the two girls fawned over their new addition. He knew it was only going to get worse once Yang showed up.

He heard the snap of a scroll, and he sighed again at the sound of their dorm door being flung open three seconds later.

Jaune growled into his pillow and prepared to try and get at least some sleep. Maybe he could channel his old sleeping habits, back from when he'd been able to sleep during war time events.

"JaaauunNNEEEEEE!"

The increasing volume of his name was his only warning before he found himself being crushed in his bedsheets, Yang having grabbed almost half his bedding in her hug.

"Oh, it's so cute! Did you see it's eyes? This is going to be the best thing EVER!" Yang half said, half yelled through the pillow and into his ear.

"Ghraaarge. Ynang, we'vve gott thigns todo twomrrow." Jaune managed while being suffocated in his pillows.

"How can you possible sleep with something so cute running around?" Yang asked, dropping Jaune back down onto his bed.

He quickly took a deep breath of fresh air before rearranging his pillows once again for optimal comfort.

"Just make sure you're not going to fall asleep during the speech tomorrow." Jaune said.

"Don't worry, dad. I'll be ready." Yang said, slapping a hand on his back, "Thanks for getting us a kitty." She said, her voice high pitched to sound like a little kid.

Jaune groaned, grudgingly acknowledging that he probably wasn't going to get much sleep with three huntresses acting like ten year olds in the bathroom.

* * *

Jaune blearily blinked at his scroll, the device showing the time to be four fifteen in the morning. He blinked again in confusion, trying to place where he was.

The moon was wrong, it should be cressent tonight… right? Why….

Hadn't he just been in Northern Vale? He swore… he'd just blown up a supply train going to the White Fang… he'd been leading hit and run missions with…. JYNR? Right? He'd stopped Yang from losing her arm… Ruby was still recovering from her silver eyes being unlocked… Why was he in a bed? He hadn't died… had he?

Something shifted next to him, he blinked again at the white mass that was laying next to him.

Weiss's blue eyes peaked up at him from under her eyelashes, sleep clinging to them.

"You were having a nightmare." She whispered, her head resting on one of his arms as she lay facing him.

Jaune's thoughts slowly formed the connections and let him relax. He bowed his head forwards a little and kissed her on the forehead, "Thank you." He said softly.

Weiss smiled as she snuggled a little closer, letting him take comfort in simple proximity.

"Love you." Weiss said as sleep pulled her away.

"Love you too," Jaune said as he fell back into the dream realm.

This one a happier one.

* * *

Ozpin sat in the teachers lounge, coffee in hand as he stared at the pile of paper in front of him. His lips twisted into a frown as he considered his speech to the students. It was something he'd done dozens of times, greeting the next generation of humanities defenders into his schools halls.

The bright morning sun pouring through the window gave a stark contrast to his thoughts.

This was the first time he had to hold a moment of silence for so many dead.

He had given eulogies before. More than he would have ever cared. In an endless war, so too were there endless casualties.

This stuck far harder for him. This wasn't a brave hunter cut down by the Grimm, or one of his friends losing to Salem's agents.

These were his students. Students who had trusted _him_ with their lives, who had believed their headmaster would be strong enough to prevent a something like this. At least until _they_ were strong enough to do so themselves.

They were bright, honest souls who simply wanted to protect the world from the darkness.

They had been cut down in the very place they'd thought to be the safest.

Ozpin took a deep breath, letting his darker thoughts fester for a moment before letting them go. Their sacrifices would be in vain if he didn't get a hold of himself.

Perhaps he'd become lax in the past half century. Lulled by the relative inaction in the shadow war for Remnant.

Now his students had paid the price.

He would not allow anymore to fall needlessly.

It was time for some changes in the school.

While the students had reacted as well as they could to the attack, too many had been unprepared for the brutal and harsh reality of a Grimm invasion. Even more so to see people be slain by their own kind.

The White Fang's strike had truly cut deep, siding with monsters and showing themselves to be the same.

He flipped through the papers in front of him, he fiddled with the handle of his mug as he read through the list of names that would not be returning to Beacon.

There were too many names.

Six entire teams were marked KIA.

An additional eight students also marked KIA.

Four teams were still recovering from crippling injuries.

Over forty students had dropped out. Either injured, unable or unwilling to continue in the carrier of Hunters.

Ozpin couldn't find it in himself to blame them. Many had lost family who had come to cheer them on, all of them had seen the brutal atrocities of war.

Yet they called it a victory.

A shadow fell across the papers in Ozpin's hands, breaking him from his thoughts. Qrow stood next to the table, face set in somber expression.

"You can't blame yourself, Oz." Qrow said, reading the look on the headmaster's face. "No one could have predicted that shitshow. Let alone prevented the damn thing."

The grizzled hunter held out his flask, a rare offering even to his closest friends. Ozpin considered it for a second, before taking Qrow's most prized possession and pouring a small amount into his coffee.

"I still feel I am to blame. You say I couldn't see it coming, yet I should have." Ozpin sighed, taking a long drink of his spiked coffee, "The signs were there, looking back. If only I had taken notice. If only I had taken the warnings seriously, perhaps this could have been avoided. Mr Arc certainly seemed to think so."

Qrow pulled up a chair and sat down, his normally brash attitude had been somewhat dimmed lately. "That kid isn't normal, Oz. He's seen shit, done shit, and lived through shit. Even if no one can figure out what or when." Qrow picked his flask up, brushing a thumb over his name and symbol engraved across the front.

"The terrorist leader, Taurus…" Ozpin said as he leaned back in his chair, "He killed at least three professional huntsmen and held off your niece and her partner with ease. Then Mr Arc simply came in and struck him down."

Ozpin shook his head, "I simply can't understand the man."

"Good luck ever figuring him out. You know, when I was flying down from Amity, I saw the damnedest thing." Qrow said with a laugh, having take a moment to control himself and take another swig, "I thought I was hallucinating at first, but then Yang confirmed it. It was the kid, riding a goddamn Griffon out of the air and through the cafeteria like some kind of harbinger of war."

Ozpin's lips quirked up at the image. Somehow, it didn't seem that out of place for Mr Arc.

"He certainly is full of surprises." Ozpin said, feeling a little more alive. That may have been the spiked coffee though.

"I'm interested to see what he brings to the table," Qrow said, "He should be a good influence on the kids, teach them a few tricks at least."

"I certainly hope so, Qrow, I certainly hope so."

* * *

Jaune opened the door to the teachers lounge behind the main auditorium half an hour before Ozpin's big speech. Apparently the staff had decided it would be a good idea for him to be seen with the other teachers to help his image as assistant professor.

Jaune had rolled his eyes at that.

He expected that whoever this class he was supposed to teach consisted of, it was probably going to be upper years, and that they probably wouldn't take his sudden promotion all that well. He was technically their junior and his reputation probably wasn't gonna help him much.

At least his physical fitness was up to his own standards now and he was confident in being able to take on almost anyone in a 1V1 fight. So getting them to respect him somewhat shouldn't be too hard.

Not that he really expected or even wanted their respect, it would simply make this whole thing easier.

"Ah, greetings lad." Peter said as Jaune walked into the room, the man's thick mustache moving as he spoke, "So glad you could join us."

Jaune gritted his teeth and engaged his aura as the large man slapped a bear paw on his back, and still had to adjust half a step from the blow.

Peter laughed jovially, handing Jaune a cup of coffee and offered him a seat at the table.

"Greetings Mr Arc, I assume you are ready to begin your new career in brightening the minds of your fellow students, no?" Dr Oobleck rattled off from across the table, getting a grunt in return.

Qrow chuckled to himself from the seat next to Oobleck, hiding a one finger salute in the action of taking a swig, getting a quick bird sign in return from Jaune. Qrow laughed quietly as Jaune grinned back.

He glanced around the room as he sipped his coffee.

The lounge was set up nicely, with several cushioned chairs and a sofa in one corner next to a long countertop with a snack bar and drink machine.

Ozpin had sat at the head of the table, an empty coffee pot next to him suggesting he'd been here long before the others.

Miss Goodwitch sat on Ozpin's left, giving Jaune a short nod in greeting and a less than lethal look. A good start to the day.

"Now that we are all here, I suppose we can go over any questions before the students arrive." Ozpin said, looking over the room as he sipped his coffee.

Jaune glanced between the assembled staff and shrugged.

Port leaned on the table a little, "I know today is only to bring everyone up to speed, but I was hoping I might request one of the assistants for a little help of a few hours, after your speech of course."

Ozpin nodded to Jaune, "Do you have any objections, Mr Arc? It is your team after all."

Jaune raised an eyebrow, Ozpin was deferring to him?

He glanced at Peter, who was simply waiting for his response.

"I suppose, I don't think they had anything planned for today. What did you need help with?" He asked, thinking of who he'd send depending on the task.

"I just wanted to do a little culling in the Emerald Forest. Shouldn't take more than four or five hours, tops." Peter said, "I figured I'd take them along, give them something exciting to do."

Jaune shrugged, "Sure. I think Yang should be up for that."

"Excelant." Peter said, and judging from the way his mustache shifted, Jaune figured he was smiling.

Ozpin nodded and looked around the table, waiting for any more questions or comments. When there was none, he checked his scroll, still a few minutes before the speech.

* * *

Yang was walking to the auditorium with Weiss and Blake when she suddenly had the urge to punch Jaune. Weird.

* * *

Ruby waved to her sister as they entered the room, team RRNN exchanged greetings with Weiss, Yang and Blake as they waited for the teachers to make their way on stage.

"You guys excited?" Ruby asked, " You three are going to get to actually help the teachers, and Jaune's actually going to be one!"

Jaune had filled them in the other day about their new positions, assuring them that there wasn't going to be a lot of changes aside from him having to teach.

"It should be fun, but it sounds more like just doing paperwork errands than something fun." Yang said, giving Ruby a little nudge, "The four of you are probably gonna have more fun with the advanced classes."

"Hush, it's starting." Weiss said, causing them to look to the stage.

The headmaster walked across the stage, flanked by the rest of the staff.

Ruby thought Jaune looked like he fit in well, standing to Ozpin's left next to her uncle. Jaune, if anything, looked bored with his new position. For some reason that made her giggle a little.

Whispers and low conversation spread around the room like wildfire as the rest of the students either recognized Jaune and Qrow, or were told via the grapevine who they were.

Glynda Goodwitch's icy glare brought all conversation to a screeching halt as her eyes bore through the audience.

Ozpin tapped the mic on the podium once and leaned forward.

"Greetings, I would like to welcome you all back to these halls for the start of the a new year. For the start of something new." Ozpin began, "As I'm sure many of you have noticed, the numbers of your peers is less than when you began. The tragic event last year has left an impact that we shall all carry for as long as we live."

"Every one of you performed admirably during the defence of the people, and I am proud to have you as my students." Ozpin paused for a moment to let his words sink in, "But as with every conflict, there is loss. In respect to those who gave their lives to protect the innocent, I ask that you join me in a moment of silence to remember those who fell."

Ruby grew solemn as the atmosphere in the room commanded a heavy silence.

Ozpin slowly read out thirty two names to those assembled before quieting himself to commemorate the lost.

Ruby heard a few sniffles from the crowd and swallowed hard.

It was the part of being a Huntress that she hated. The knowledge that not everyone came back, it was something she knew all too well. Yang gently patted Ruby on the back.

Ozpin broke the silence with a heavy sigh. "Let us not forget what they died for, let us continue to protect that which they, and many more, gave their lives to protect. Let us rejoice in their memory and forge a world where they would be proud of."

"With that said, we have a new year. You have all proven yourselves in the fire of battle, but there is still so much for you to learn and do." Ozpin continued, "you have all received the rank of Junior Huntsman and will be eligible for low level or escorted missions. Your classes shall become more in depth in regards to aura and fighting, as well as learning how to properly defend civilian populations and how to enact evacuations."

"These are just a few of what you shall be learning in the coming months." The headmaster paused again, "In an attempt broaden your skills, Beacon has conscribed two new teachers. They shall be assisting the rest of the staff with their lessons, offering tutoring, and occasionally hosting their own classes. I suggest you take the opportunity to learn from them."

Ruby grinned excitedly as Jaune and her uncle traded glances and what she figured was synchronized eye rolls.

"I am pleased to introduce you to Mr Branwen, combat teacher and aura specialist." Ozpin nodded to Qrow, who grunted something and took a drink from his flask.

Miss Goodwitch glared at him for that.

"And Mr Arc, who has proven himself a competent and experienced individual in combat. He will be assisting Professor Goodwitch with her combat classes and shall be available for individual lessons should they be requested." Ozpin indicated Jaune, who simply glared at Ozpin without so much as acknowledging the audience.

Low conversation erupted from the student body, questions and guesses and more questions firing all around as Yang grinned and Ruby smiled suportavely at Jaune.

"Your new class schedules have been sent to your scrolls, I suggest you take the time to rest up and prepare for tomorrow. That is all." Ozpin said in closing, stepping away from podium and allowing Ms Goodwitch to take his place as he and the others filed out the side or the stage.

"Please check your scrolls and make sure you are prepared for your classes tomorrow. You are dismissed." Miss Goodwitch stated, issuing a few final orders before dismissing the students and following the other faculty out the side door.

* * *

Weiss pulled Yang aside as they exited the auditorium.

"Can you take care of Macska for a little while?" Weiss asked, "I need to run into Vale and get her some proper food and supplies."

"Of course. I like the name too," Yang said, a wide smile on her face at the thought of the little kitten, "I'll check on her…" Yang cut off as her phone sounded, she pulled it out and answered. "Yea, Jaune… I guess… Sure."

Weiss raised an eyebrow, Jaune calling anyone was a rare occurrence, "Jaune wants me to meet him in the teachers lounge, I guess one of them needs some help with something."

"Ah, I see. I'll see if Blake can do it then." Weiss said as she and Yang parted ways.

Weiss caught up to Blake in the hallway, asking her the same question she'd asked Yang. After getting confirmation, she headed to the bullhead docks and caught a ride down to Vale.

The sun shone brightly as people went about their day, a slight breeze making the weather pleasant as she walked to a nearby pet store. A little girl suddenly called out her name, causing Weiss to pause.

"Mom, mom! Look!" Weiss turned to see a girl somewhere around twelve or so pointing to her, "It's Weiss Schnee!"

Weiss stopped and turned to the two, "Hello," She said, "What's your name?" It wasn't the first time Weiss had been recognised in public, but this felt a nicer due to the girls enthusiasm.

The girl and her mother walked over and stopped a few feet from Weiss, the girl looked her up and down like she was looking at a superhero. "Can I please have your autograph?" She asked excitedly.

"Oh, of course." Weiss said, accepting the pen the mother offered her, "What's your name?"

"Violet. Violet Ansmond." The girl said, holding out a small book she'd been carrying.

"What a beautiful name," Weiss said with a smile, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"I want to be a Huntress like you!" Violet exclaimed, "I want to stop the bad guys and protect everyone."

Weiss didn't miss the slightly worried look on face of Violet's mother, she tried to look supportive, but it was clear the woman didn't approve of her child's dreams, not that Weiss could blame her. The woman probably had a much clearer picture of just what the life of a Huntress entailed.

"Well, you have to train very hard before you can become a huntress," Weiss said, "It's very difficult and takes lots of effort, but it is a very important job."

She signed the inside of the book and handed it back to Violet.

Violet quickly looked at the signature and beamed, "To Violet, may your dreams be ever bright. Weiss Schnee." She read out loud, "Thank you so much. This is the best day ever!"

"Thank you, Miss Schnee, I hope you have a wonderful day." The woman said, smiling to Weiss, "Come along, Violet, we still have errands to run."

"Bye Miss Schnee." Violet said, still smiling as they walked away.

"Have a wonderful day." Weiss said, smiling to them and feeling a little light on the inside. That was probably the first time she'd been recognized as someone other than the daughter of Jacques Schnee.

She turned around and almost ran straight into someone else.

"Oh, pardon me. I am so sorry." Weiss apologised, taking a step back.

A tall, thinner man in a gray suit coat, red vest and a yellow shirt, bowed slightly to her, "Please, it was my fault, I should have been paying attention to where I was walking."

Weiss noted he had a rather thick Atlas accent, much like her fathers. He smiled down at her and seemed to recognise her as well, his black mustache quirking up slightly.

"Ah, Miss Schnee, I do apologise, I did not mean to almost run down the hero of Beacon." He said, bowing elegantly to her again.

"Nothing to apologise for, Sir, I was as much at fault." Weiss said, trying to reassure the man.

"Thank you, Miss," He said, "But I'm afraid I must take my leave, I have some urgent business to attend to."

"Of course, Sir, have a wonderful day." Weiss said as the man stepped past her.

"You as well."

Weiss hmm'd to herself and continued to the pet shop.

Half an hour later, she was on the bullhead back to Beacon with a medium sized cat kennel loaded with food, a cat bed, litter box and a few toys. Macska was going to love them, Weiss just knew it.

* * *

Jaune sat in the lounge, cup of coffee before him as he tinkered with a small square box that was separated into multiple pieces. Three completed boxes were set set next to him.

"So, that is your plan for the entire month's training." Glynda said, sitting opposite him at the table.

"Pretty much, simple but with a valuable learning experience." He said, using a screwdriver to disassemble a spare scroll. He pulled out the battery pack and began tearing into the relay circuits.

"What do you think?" He asked, glancing at the older woman.

"I think it is a simple premise that could be taken to a very extreme level." Glynda said, sipping from a cup of tea, "And it basically removes any work or involvement on your part. I am not sure why I expected anything else from you."

Jaune chuckled as he freed the tracking chip and small antenna from the device, "I'll take that as a compliment. It's not like it requires you to do anything extra either. Your reputation is enough to keep them in line."

Glynda humphed at that, "Still, I am a little concerned about the 'no boundaries or safe zones' part. They should have somewhere secure. I certainly do not want to see teams fighting it out in the streets of Vale either."

Jaune raised an eyebrow at the safe zones part, "You literally threw a bunch of teenagers off a cliff. Heck, you didn't even know if all of them had their aura unlocked or any training whatsoever."

"I find the idea that someone could sneak into this school in such a manner to be entirely impossible." Glynda said, not noticing the look on Jaune's face.

"Anyways, the whole point of this is to learn subtly and stealth." Jaune said after a moment, shaking his head as he used a small soldering gun to attach the tracking chip inside the box. "And again, your reputation should keep them from doing anything drastic."

"Very well." Glynda relented, "I suppose we shall see how this goes."

Jaune grunted as he finished up with some small wiring, placing the battery from the scroll into a seperate compartment designed to slide into the box. He clicked the components together and picked up his own scroll, checking to make sure the device worked before setting it aside with the others.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Glynda asked, letting a little of her curiosity show.

"Oh, you know. I picked it up somewhere." Jaune said, sitting back and sipping his coffee.

"I doubt that very much." Glynda said, looking at the boxes again, "I can't think of very many people I know who can disassemble a scroll and rewire its parts into tracking devices, muchless ones that operate on a timer."

"You must not know many people."

Glynda glared at him, causing him to grin a little.

"I am not a foolish person, Mr Arc, and neither are you. I simply cannot understand what could have possibly led to you acquiring your skills, nor your disposition."

Jaune sighed. No, she really couldn't, and honestly he wasn't sure he ever wanted her to understand. Weiss was dealing with the revelation better than he'd have imagined, but he figured that was just her.

Weiss had at least gotten a glimpse of Fate, actually conversed with it from what she'd told him.

He finished off his coffee, still it couldn't her to keep the joke going.

"I'm pretty sure I've said it a thousand times before," He said, "I'm a time traveler and I have been waging a war for over a thousand years."

Glynda rolled her eyes behind her glasses.

"It's kinda funny," Jaune said as he stood up and collected the boxes, "For all the insane things you've seen, all the truth's you know of magic and Gods, you can sure be narrow minded."

"And what would change if I did believe you have traveled through time." Glynda asked pointedly, "I cannot effect nor control it, what will be…"

"What will be will be, our future is ever changing as it is." Jaune finished, standing in the doorway with a distant look in his eyes as he stared at a spot on the far wall. "You told me that once."

With a sigh, Jaune opened the door, "I'll see you tomorrow for class."

Glynda watched as he walked out and shut the door behind him, thinking for a moment on his words before shaking her head and making herself a new cup of tea. The world was full of unbelievable things, sometimes so much so that only those who experienced them could even comprehend them.

She held no personal belief in the ability of time travel, but there simply were no answers to fit the question that was Jaune Arc.

 _When you eliminate the impossible, then whatever is left, no matter how improbable, must be the truth._ She thought, remembering a quote from one of her favorite authors. _Whatever Mr Arc's past may be, I simply hope he can move past it._

* * *

 **Soooooooo. Things are happening. Slowly, but they are happening. I want my early chapters to set the pace best as I can. I don't want to go skipping ahead weeks or months at a time because there is honestly so much that is going on in the aftermath of the attack. (Yea yea. I know I immediately skipped 6 months in chapter 1)**

 **I am really glad that I was able to get this big of a chapter and I really hope I was able to convey some of the undertones of what's going on with Ozpin and his mind set, as that is going to play a big part in what's to come. The chess board has been laid out, the queen has been taken, what is the next move?**

 **Hopefully I was able to establish a few things as far as a few of JWBY's dynamics. Jaune is still suffering from PTSD, and is still having nightmares. Due more to being in proximity to his team again vs when he was visiting family. Same room, same bed, same people sort of thing. His mind hasn't quite caught up with this being different.**

 **Weiss is changing a little more, being far more warm and open.**

 **Yang is being Yang.**

 **Blake is back to her old habits of not letting things go, but this time for a good reason.**

 **I've been a bit sparse on RRNN, I know, but I'm trying to ease into their mind sets and how to write them.**

 **Turns out, trying to write ten or more different personalities ain't that easy. Who'd've thunk.**

 **I'm also trying to show more of the world I see when I'm writing, getting more details without doing a data dump and killing the pacing or worse. So hopefully that gets better too.**

 **Oh. And I got a Beta…. he's somewhere around here…. *Checks under chair* Nope. Huh.**

 **Well. That's awkward.**

' **Oi. Jaeger! The fuck are ya?'**

 **Ohhhh, somewhere.**

 **Honestly, I love this story and I like the style Jimmy writes with. This week has been the most chaotic I've had in literally 5 months.**

 **So, I'm here. I'm going to be influencing dear Jimmy. Whether he sees me or not. *flips the desk on his head***

 **And watch out Jimmy, cause now that I've got some time to think, I'm coming for that plot. And I'll be poking holes in it till its screaming for mercy.**

 **Call me 'Jimmy' one more time and it's back in cabinet you go…**

 **NOT THERE! IT'S WHERE ALL THE LEMONS AND STUPID ONE-SHOTS GO! NOOOOOOOO**

 **Alright. So, Jaeger has been a big help so far, we've spent several hours on the phone discussing lore, NttF, and plot points. I hope you guys enjoy this shitshowfestival masquerading as a clownhouse.**

 **You got any parting words till next time?**

 **This is honestly a ton of fun. And if nothing else, it's gonna be a crazy ride. Jump on if you dare. BACK TO THE PLOT STABBING! I-I MEAN FIXING!**

 **The fuck am I gonna do with you...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright MOFO's, BACk Agaaaaiiiiinnnnn!**

 **Chapter 5 here, So LET's GO**

* * *

After Fate

Chapter 5

Well about time he did it

BETA:ErenJaeger17

* * *

Jaune walked down the halls, the stack of boxes under one arm as he made his way to the armory. His mind wandered a little as he wondered what was to come next. His little parting comment to Glynda still nagged in the back of his mind.

He probably should have kept his mouth shut on that one. He wasn't a time traveler anymore, he was simply someone with a lot of experience.

Shaking his head, Jaune swiped his new teacher's scroll across the coded panel on the door, letting the device beep at him before pushing the door open and making his way to an open table.

Beacon's armory was… well, an armory. While most schools that taught kids the basics of maths, reading and such never really had a need for one, Beacon _was_ a combat school. The best in Remnant if Ozpin was to be believed.

Therefore, it needed an armory. An armory that could outfit a good sized military and was probably used by the kingdom as something as a safe house.

The bright, harsh lights flickered to life above him, illuminating the large room as he walked past the weapon lockers.

Jaune ignored the rows of standard issue rifles, pistols, shotguns and sniper rifles that stood cleaned and readied behind thin bars. Each type of weapon had its own dedicated racks that would rotate to bring another row of the same weapon to the fore.

This, he figured, was built in such a way as that every station could rapidly be accessed without causing congestion if there was an emergency. There was enough space between each station you could drive a small forklift through, reducing choke points and opening the flow of traffic.

Ammunition for each weapon was stored in a similar fashion, tucked underneath the racks themselves, magazine after magazine was loaded and ready.

Jaune just scoffed, as he made his way through the massive room. He could only remember two, maybe three times he'd seen the room used for its intended purpose.

Those were the times he'd really screwed something up and the attack happened far earlier, or something drastic had happened in the kingdom.

Those had never been particularly long repeats.

Jaune laid the boxes down on a table near one of end of the room, taking his coat off and laying it next to the boxes. The pistol hidden in the coat made a deadened thump on the table.

It only took him a minute to find and access the clothing section of the armory, having to make several trips to gather the sixteen single-strap backpacks he wanted.

Taking a moment to consider them, he went to find some colored bandannas or something to help identify between the bags.

Different colored duct tape did the trick.

After marking the bags and setting them into four groups, he began disassembling the boxes he'd made into three parts: The housing unit, the battery, and the relay transmitter.

Taking one part from each device, he divided them up into the packs, ensuring each team would have a complete tracking box once the pieces were assembled.

He really couldn't see how this could get too out of hand.

Less than fifteen minutes after he'd entered the armory, he was done. Something Jaune found he didn't really appreciate.

It was the same problem he'd faced after his last recovery in the infirmary, when Ozpin had told him he was free to decide what he wanted to do. Stay in Beacon or leave.

The question had been simple with an equally simple and obvious answer. Of course he was going to stay. But what was he to do now?

Jaune considered himself to be a determined individual if nothing else. It'd been something that had held him together through his repeating lives, the knowledge that he'd figure it out eventually.

But now he had. He was free to do as he please.

Jaune stood there in the armory for a solid ten minutes thinking about what he wanted to do. He checked his scroll, it was close to 1:30 in the afternoon.

He could go eat? Maybe see what RRNN was up to? Challenge Ruby to a staring contest?

Weiss was probably playing with the kitten, Blake was probably reading, and Yang was helping Port with some Grimm clearing.

Jaune's finger tapped angrily against his thigh, a frown pulling on his face. How the hell was he bored? He opened his phone and sent Jade a text, hoping that would give him something to do. he thought about calling his mother, but didn't want to risk accidentally waking the baby up.

He thought about taking a nap, but felt too awake to do so.

Damnit. Since when had wasting time become a chore?

Looking around the room for inspiration, his eyes landed on the weapon racks. With a shrug, he walked over and retrieved one of the battle rifles.

Taking it back to the table he began field stripping it, just like Ruby had taught him, naming each piece out loud as he disassembled the gun.

He was almost jealous of Yang, at least she had something fun to do.

* * *

Yang wasn't sure what to think about her current situation, on the one hand, killing Grimm with an experienced huntsman and professor was an exciting opportunity.

On the other hand, it was Professor Port.

Yang held onto the handrail of the bullhead as she watched the forest speed by beneath her as Prof. Port stood next to her, arms crossed and talking about his days as a young hunter.

She'd tried, as always, to pay attention to what he was saying.

As always, she began tuning him out after the first five minutes.

Instead, she watched the trees speed by beneath them. Noticing the increased numbers of Grimm in every clearing they passed. Packs of Beowolves almost twice in number from any she'd seen during initiation, larger concentrations of Ursa and multiple Deathstalkers roaming the occasional ruins scattered through the forest.

So lost in thought was she that it took the professor shouting something to get her attention.

"Alright, lassie, now!" Port suddenly said, slapping Yang on the back and breaking her from her thoughts.

He coincidentally also broke her hold on the handrail, causing her to tumble out of the bullhead.

If the thunder of the passing bullhead hadn't scattered the birds in the area, her scream of surprise certainly would have.

Yang got a hold of herself mid fall, quickly adjusting her body position with a shot from her gauntlets, feeling the recoil slow her down a fraction as she took in her surroundings.

They'd been flying pretty low over the forest, so her ability to pick a good landing zone was pretty low. Thankfully, Port had knocked her off the ship over a decently sized field.

With a few more shots, she found a nice looking place to land as three more rounds brought her to a slower velocity, allowing her aura to tank the damage without draining her reserves.

A final shot at the last second put her into a forward roll into the grassy field, bleeding off her excess speed as she combat rolled to her feet and took a readied position.

Looking around, Yang guessed they were at least five miles from the cliffs of Beacon, judging by how long they'd been flying and the look of the mountains further to the east.

A quick glance at the sky showed the bullhead circling back around asYang had the privilege to witness Peter Port's landing strategy.

The large man had taking a running leap out the door, spreading his arms to the side like she'd seen professional divers do. As he rushed towards the ground, Yang was starting to believe he was actually going to land in a belly flop, when at the last moment he tucked into a roll and landed in a kneeling stance with on leg bent and his weapon in one hand.

Yang was forced back from the shockwave of the Professor's landing, waving the dust from in front of her face to see him standing up from the small crater he'd made.

"Ok. That was kinda cool." Yang said as she walked over to him, glancing around the clearing and spotting more than a few grimm beginning to take interest in them.

"Why thank you, thank you." Peter said as he dusted himself off, looking quite pleased with his landing. "Now get ready lassie, for we have come to clear out as many of these monster as we can before our ride comes back."

Yang raised an eyebrow, she hadn't exactly been paying attention when Jaune had told her she had to help the professor.

"How long till exfil?" Yang asked, noticing the packs of Grimm at the edge of the clearing steadily growing larger.

"I told him to wait at least three hours." Port said, spinning his battleaxe blunderbuss in one hand.

"Wait. Three hours?!" Yang almost shouted, hoping he was joking, she counted well over a hundred Grimm already around the clearing. No way Port expected to the two of them to hold out that long.

"I know, I know," Peter said, "Not as long as I'd have liked, but I suppose we should make the most of our time." He said, striding past the dumbstruck blonde.

Professor Peter Port walked towards the hoard that had gathered at the edge of the clearing, a bright, cheery smile hidden beneath his magnificent mustache as he leveled his weapon at the Grimm.

Yang jogged up behind him, not willing to be separated from the clearly insane man until she had at least a half decent chance of getting out alive.

Peter slowly leveled his blunderbuss at the waiting Grimm, taking aim at a large Deathstalker at the fore.

"Have at thee, monsters!" He bellowed, firing his gun.

Yang's jaw dropped as the Deathstalker was ripped clean in half from the shot, it's body dissolving as the halves flew through the air.

On cue, the Grimm charged with roars and howls, Yang sinking into a ready stance as the wall of black approached. This was insane. The professor was insane. Jaune was insane! There was no way the two of them were going to survive this!

Peter let out his own battle cry and charged to meet the Grimm head on, giving Yang the option of staying back and being swarmed by whatever made it around the large man, or charging with him on the off chance they could win.

With a sharp curse Yang shot forward to catch up with her crazy teacher.

"Ah, it feels so good to be back in the fray after a long day of paperwork." Peter shouted as he moved with far greater speed than Yang would have imagined.

The space between the two fractions closed as Yang said her final prayers to any gods that would listen before the world descended into a swirling melee of black, yellow, red and the constant shouts of "Tally ho!" "Whoopsie Daisy!" and "Off you go!", punctuated by a steady stream of profanity from Yang.

* * *

Qrow Branwen stalked through the halls of Beacon, hands in his pockets and a bored expression on his face. He'd been walking around the school for a good hour now, seemingly without much of a destination.

He took a drink from his flask as he turned down one of the halls, looking out the windows at the various groups of students milling around. Qrow's jaw hardened a little as his frown deepened, these kids were too young to have been forced through the shit that they'd seen.

Qrow could remember the first time he'd seen people killed by Grimm, it had shaken him as a seven year old. But that was life in the tribe, you made peace with death as a constant companion as you either lived or died on how far you were willing to go to survive.

These kids were too young for that. Too fresh.

Not that he could say that now, he saw the looks in their faces when they passed him: The harder eyes that took in their surroundings, the way they entered rooms or rounded corners. He didn't think he'd seen a single one without their weapon in the past few days, and honestly wondered if Ozpin was going to allow them to carry in class.

Qrow cursed to himself as he took another drink, none of them deserved this.

What a shitty world.

On the flip side, the new Fall Maiden and her boyfriend seemed just fine with everything. Even Yang had been shaken by what had happened, she tried to hide it best she could, but he'd helped raise her. He could seen the ticks every now and then, they were small, almost unnoticeable, but he caught them.

Yang's partner had taken it far better, but he figured she'd be use to shit like that. Not on the same scale, of course, but at least inured to the violence.

He'd been worried when Ozpin had told him about the cat faunus's past, but after the Mt. Glenn mission, his fears there had been eased. Now he was more interested in what they'd say when she told'em who her parents were.

Qrow rolled his shoulders as he kept walking, making another lap around the north wing of Beacon. He pulled his scroll out and sent a text to Jaune, he figured it be a good idea to see what the kid had in mind for the classes, seeing as how they might be teaching together.

Maybe he'd get a spar out the kid, that might be fun. Qrow had never actually seen the kid fight, but from everything he'd heard, it could be interesting.

* * *

Weiss sat cross legged in the middle of the dorm room, one hand holding her scroll, reading an article on how to train kittens, and the other holding a stick with a string and feather tied to it.

Macska was jumping back and forth at the feather, trying her best to capture the elusive toy.

Weiss set her scroll down and flicked the toy back and forth, watching as Macska leapt up, claws out and mouth open, and missed by several inches. Weiss smiled and held the stick still, allowing the kitten to catch the feather.

Macska jumped again, securing her prize as she landed on her side, front paws gripping tightly to the toy as she kicked at it with her hind legs while gnawing at the string.

Weiss laughed as she reached forward and stroked Macska's head, causing her to go still and release the toy. After several strokes, Weiss ran her hand down the kittens back, smiling at the purrs coming from the small thing. Macska threw her head back, purring louder as Weiss ran her hand down her spine and tail.

Weiss smiled, it was nice to have a little distraction from everything else going on. For as much things were changing, she still felt trapped by her father. His visit after the attack had been… confrontational to put it kindly.

Jaune had just about recovered and had been getting back to full strength and the repairs to the school had been coming along well at the time. Then Jacques Schnee's ship had landed at the docks and she'd been called up to the headmaster's office.

" _A Schnee should not be working like some commoner. If you lower yourself, others will not hesitate to walk over you." Jacques' said, his voice even, hiding his outrage at her rather public stunt the week before, "You shall be returning home immediately and shall remain there until I see fit to return your privileges."_

 _Jaune had caught wind of the meeting, due to Ozpin notifying him, and shown up halfway through Jacques' little rant._

 _Weiss had honestly thought Jaune might draw his blade then and there, but what really had her concerned was the fact that Miss Goodwitch looked completely fine with the idea._

 _Her father, and that title was not one of respect, had looked at Jaune like he wanted to flay him alive. "I take it you are the one to have corrupted my daughter to reject my orders."_

" _You did that on your own," Jaune snapped back, catching Weiss a little off guard with the anger in his voice, "Perhaps if you'd actually been something resembling a father, your daughters wouldn't have run away at the first opportunity."_

 _Jacques Schnee recoiled and fixed Jaune with a cold glare, "You should watch your tongue when speaking to your elders, boy."_

" _You should watch where you hit your kids," Jaune growled as Ozpin and the others, Qrow having been there, and Winter having shown up after Jaune did, looked between the two._

Weiss shook her head to dispel the memory. She'd been shocked at how Jaune had acted to her father. Winter suffered from far greater shock as Jaune had once again known things that he really shouldn't have. Couldn't have, even.

It was directly after that her father had stated that Weiss had been disinherited, saying that if she would not be part of the family, she'd have no part in the future of it and basically implied that she was banished.

Of course, his statement to the press the next day had carried a far different tone. He said that if Weiss wished to spend her time outside the company, it would be unfair to force her to take part in something she had no interest in and she would be free to make her own way in the world.

Weiss shivered a little at the memory. It had hurt, hurt far more than she'd thought it would. She'd found her accounts revoked the next day, though she still had the account Jaune had made for her and the considerable funds in it.

Plus, Ozpin said she'd have funds due to being the new Maiden and Jaune's new position would come with the benefit of their expenses in the school being covered.

She still had her team, and she loved them every bit more for helping her forget the day. Yang and Blake having kicked Jaune out of the room again as the three of them spent the night eating ice cream and ranting about what an ass her father was.

Macska mewed loudly in front of her, drawing her attention back to the kitten as she began playing with it again, flicking the stick and string back and forth and laughing as the kitten tripped over herself trying to catch it.

Weiss's scroll buzzed a few minutes later, making her pause to check the message.

 _Might want to come to the outside sparring field. -Blake_

Weiss furrowed her brows, there wasn't any training scheduled for today. Maybe it was an impromptu spar or something? Those weren't uncommon in a fighting school, but the fact it was something big enough to get Blake's attention warranted taking a look.

She stood up, picking Mascka up and gently putting her in her kennel before brushing the cat hair off her dress and heading outside.

Five minutes later Weiss spotted a rather large crowd gathered around field as the clash of weapons echoed loudly in the air.

Weiss spotted Blake and team RRNN standing atop one of the bleachers on the outskirts of the ring, Ruby waving her arms to catch her attention.

She made her way up the stands, weaving past what she guessed was the majority of Beacon's students gathered to watch whoever was fighting.

Finally making up the stands, Weiss turned to the open area in the middle of the students. Promptly facepalming at the sight of Jaune and Mr Branwen dueling it out in a rather theatrical and brutal fight.

"Can someone explain what even started this?" Weiss asked as Jaune pulled a stun baton out and dual wielded it with his sword, forcing Ruby's uncle onto the back foot.

"I guess Uncle Qrow said he could curbstomp Jaune in a fight." Said niece spoke up, holding her scroll for Weiss to see. A text from Jaune displayed, _You should probably be ready to take Qrow to the infirmary._

Weiss sighed and massaged her temples, "When did this begin?" She asked, turning to her teammate.

Blake shrugged, "They've been at it for a solid ten minutes. I texted you right after it started."

Weiss looked back to the fight, watching Qrow try to disarm Jaune after getting hit with the stun baton. Jaune leapt back, showing off his agility as he tucked into a roll before reversing and coming up with his sword angled at Qrow's feet, causing the older huntsman to jump and take another strike from the dust powered weapon.

Jaune had taken his coat off, his armor glinting in the light, strapped over his t-shirt. He only had the chest plate and one thin pauldron on his left shoulder, though Weiss had seen more pieces in the bag he had in the room.

Ruby was jumping in place and shouting her support for her uncle and friend equally. The rest of the crowd cheered their support from the sidelines and Weiss saw multiple bets being placed between the students.

"Why does everything Jaune do turn into a spectacle sport?" Weiss asked no one in particular.

"I have no idea." Blake said from beside her, "I did put twenty lien on Jaune though."

Weiss looked at her in disbelief, "Really? You gambled on this." She said, holding a hand towards the two combatants as Qrow backflipped away from Jaune, switching his weapon into scythe mode as Jaune drew his shield and charged.

"I don't get it." Weiss heard Pyrrha mutter, earning a glance from the heiress.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, glancing between the strange look on the champions face and the fight. "It isn't that surprising Jaune is holding his own."

"It's not that… It's… Look at his style." Pyrrha said, "Watch, he's going to stoop low, then feign left and strike high."

To Weiss's surprise, Jaune did exactly that, deflecting Qrow's scythe off his shield before feigning and striking at the man's arm.

"How did you know he was going to do that?" Weiss asked in shock, her partners fighting style was… unorthodox to say the least.

"I.. because I've used that exact same move." Pyrrha said softly, confusion crossing her face, "He did it during the cafeteria fight too. He used moves straight from my fighting style…"

A moment of clarity struck Weiss, seeing just what Pyrrha was confused about. Not that the answer would do anything for Minstrilian's confusion. Jaune had told her that Pyrrha had trained him for over a hundred years, of course he would pick up her style and tricks.

"Oh! Since when did Jauney start wearing armor?" Nora asked from the other side of Pyrrha.

"After he recovered from getting stabbed the last time." Weiss said flatly, "Maybe he's learning."

Blake stifled a snigger as Nora laughed at the response.

The fight seemed to pick up in pace as both fighters began to show signs of exhaustion, each trying to end it as quickly as possible in their favor.

Weiss glanced around the crowd again, noticing it had grown larger. Even Miss Goodwitch and the Headmaster were watching from a distance.

Jaune led Qrow back a little ways, trying to stay out of range of his scythe's reach before rushing in under his guard and knee capping Qrow with his shield.

Qrow cursed as he brought the handle of his weapon down to hit Jaune in the head, but Jaune had already rolled past as he tried to hamstring the caped hunter.

Everyone watched as Jaune collapsed his shield, grabbing it in a reverse hold to block Qrow's blade as it came around for him. Several Ohh's and Ahh's sounded as Jaune's feet dug slightly into the ground at the force of the blow, his guard straining to keep it from breaking.

Weiss pulled out her scroll and quickly check the team's aura monitor, seeing that Jaune's was currently still three quarters full. Something that made her raise an eyebrow, after that much fighting, surely Qrow would have landed more strikes than that.

She also saw that Yang's aura was currently about half for some reason.

* * *

Yang had ran out of curse words half an hour ago and was now resorting to incomprehensible screaming as the Grimm continued to rush them.

Port, somehow unphased by the onslaught continued to cut through droves of monsters with ease. Occasionally, he'd even stop to fire his gun at those swarming Yang, buying her a brief moment to breath as the round decimated a dozen or so Grimm in one shot.

"THIS IS INSANITY!" Yang screamed as yet another Ursa tried to bite at her head off, earning a semblance powered punch for it's trouble.

"Isn't it grand, lassie? Nothing but Grimm and the fight of the human spirit!" Port shouted as he rode a giant Deathstalker through a pack of Beowolves, holding the stinger in one hand to direct the enraged beast.

* * *

Weiss shrugged, Yang was with one of the professors, it wouldn't be that dangerous.

She looked back to the fight, watching as Jaune suddenly stumbled and lost his footing. A gasp of shock escaped her as Qrow swung down with his scythe, hoping to pin Jaune down and end the prolonged fight.

Jaune growled, dropping his sword and shield as he pivoted at the last second to grab Qrow's weapon, pulling it from the man's grip and making him take a step forward.

Jaune immediately tripped Qrow by hooking his leg around and took the fight to a ground game as weapons were forgotten and he grappled at Qrow's neck, trying to get him into a choke hold.

Qrow punched him twice in the face before Jaune got ahold of the arm, bending the limb at an awkward angle and wrapping his legs around Qrow's throat.

Silence reigned in the audience as the two ceased fighting, the combatants lay still for a moment before Qrow slowly moved his free arm and tapped the ground twice.

The crowd shouted wildly, some cheering, others moaning at their lost bets. Blake smirked as she collected her winnings from a brown haired boy.

Jaune released his hold and rolled off Qrow, panting heavily as he stood up, offering a hand to the older man and pulling him to his feet.

Both stood there for a moment to catch their breath, before grinning at each other and saying something Weiss couldn't hear as they moved to retrieve their weapons and heading out of the ring.

Weiss, Blake and RRNN made their way off the bleachers and headed towards the two as the crowd dispersed.

Jaune and Qrow collapsed onto a bench near the sidelines, one downing a bottle of water and the other taking a drink from his flask. They both were grinning as the others walked up.

"Well fought, Jaune." Weiss said breezily as she walked up, smirking at her partner. "I expect to see nothing less in your future spars."

Jaune groaned a little as he took another drink of water. He and Qrow were soaked with sweat and dirt, their clothes clinging to them and exhaustion clear on their faces.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby hollered as she charged her uncle, wrapping him in a hug as she almost bowled him over, "I can't believe you lost! I mean, you did try to fight Jaune, so it's not that hard to believe, but still! Wait till Yang hears about this!"

"Ughh. Give me some breathing room, brat." Qrow said, trying to keep his balance on the bench and support Ruby on his arm.

"Yea, it's probably his nap time anyways." Jaune shot at Qrow.

"Alright. Next time, I won't be going easy on you." Qrow glared at Jaune as he pulled Ruby into a headlock.

"You call that going easy?" Blake asked, stood next to Weiss.

"That's it, all of you get to run extra laps in my class." Qrow growled threatenly.

"What started this in the first place?" Weiss asked, glancing at Jaune.

"Oh, I found pissypants moping around the armory. Figured a good spar would get the blood going." Qrow answered, trying to get free of Ruby.

"I was bored, not moping." Jaune clarified when Weiss raised an eyebrow.

Qrow laughed at that, "Sure. That's why you had a sniper rifle apart and were grousing about something not being fair."

"And then you walked in and wanted to fight." Jaune said, shooting a dirty look at Qrow.

Weiss rolled her eyes before turning to her partner again, "You should probably go take a shower, you're filthy."

"I think I'm just gonna take a nap for a bit." Jaune said, yawning and slumping a little on the bench.

"You can nap later," She said, kicking his foot lightly, "I've got some training with Miss Goodwitch in an hour. I'd prefer not to come back to find you passed out like some drunkard."

Qrow heaved himself off the bench, Ruby still on one arm and nattering at him about some scythe training. "Don't diss the gutter nap till you've done it. Concrete can be incredibly soft." He said, still trying to dislodge his niece.

"Go shower." Weiss said again, kicking Jaune's foot to get him going.

"Fine." Jaune sighed, "I'll see you after bit." He said, stooping to try and give her a kiss.

Weiss dodged back, "Ah, ah, ah. Not till after you shower. I can smell you from here."

Jaune rolled his eyes but grinned, nodding to Qrow as he picked up his coat and headed back to the dorms.

"I should probably go and at least get something of a lesson plan lined out." Qrow said, rubbing Ruby's head again as she released her hold, walking off and waving one hand idlily, "See ya later, kiddos."

Those that were left eventually parted ways as well; Blake wanting to read some more, Nora and Pyrrha planning on doing some online shopping while dragging Ren with them, Ruby wanting to order some new parts for Crescent Rose, and Weiss heading off to prepare for her training.

* * *

Qrow stumbled out of the elevator and into Ozpin's office, favoring one leg a little. He slumped into a chair across from the headmaster with a slight wince. The bright, sunny day making him wish he had a pair of sunglasses as the light streamed in behind the headmaster.

"Damn if that kid doesn't pack a punch." He said, rubbing the knee that Jaune had bashed.

"And what exactly were you expecting to gain from challenging a student?" Ozpin asked, ignoring Qrow's pain, "I am aware he is at a professional huntsman's level, but I fail to see the point of your little show."

"Eh, I kinda wanted to see what he had. It also served the point of showing the other students that he isn't to be messed with. Give him a little rep boost."

"So you threw a fight with him?"

Qrow glared at the man and ignored the question. He opened his flask before wincing a little and moving his leg, "Seriously though. Who the hell taught him, Oz. You have to know something."

Ozpin sighed and minimized the screen he was looking at, "You know as well as I do that Nicolas Arc is not my biggest supporter, and wanted his family to have no part in this life. That said, when it comes to matters concerning his family, he was at least cooperative, if grudgingly so."

Ozpin paused for a moment to drink his coffee, "Nicolas said his son received only minimum training from himself, though he possessed a rather abrupt turn in skill level. He swore Jaune received no training that the family was aware of, and given how close they all are, it seems doubtful that Mr Arc would have been able to obtain any in secret."

"Well the kid sure as hell learned it somewhere." Qrow said, frowning to the side, "I know we talked about it before, back before the festival, and I've said it a few times since, but the kid fights dirty. You don't learn that kinda fighting by watching shitty movies."

"Beating a dead horse are we?"

"I don't like it when the horse gets back up and bites me."

"As much as I'd love you come up with wild stories about Mr Arc's past, I'm afraid I have more pressing matters to attend to." Ozpin said flatly, "The council has recovered enough to begin questioning why the attack happened. Why Ms Fall targeted Beacon and many, many more prying questions."

Qrow's gaze narrowed, "What are you going to tell them, the truth isn't exactly an option right now."

"At the moment, I've told them we are still investigating," Ozpin leaned back with a tired sigh, "But that won't sate them forever. I'm sure I'll think of something."

"Bureaucrats." Qrow scoffed, making the word sound every bit the insult it was, "Ain't a damn thing they do for the world except waste oxygen."

"Quite." Ozpin agreed.

Qrow pushed himself out of his chair, groaning a little as he did, "I'll leave you to it then, I'm gonna go ice my knee."

"You could help fill out this questionnaire." Ozpin held up a rather thick stack of papers.

"Goodbye, Oz." The elevator dinged open and Qrow limped in, keeping his back turned to Ozpin as he pressed the button. Ozpin turned back to his screen, ignoring the small corner of red fabric that remained on his side of the door.

Qrow would be fine. He had paperwork to deal with.

* * *

Miss Goodwitch stood across from Weiss, watching the young Maiden as she summoned up her powers. She was learning fast, that much was clear. It was a relief as well, as manifesting the power of Fall could be rather destructive if uncontrolled.

"Good, very good." Miss Goodwitch said, nodding as Weiss released her power, settling back down to the floor.

The snowstorm that had filled the room dissipated almost immediately as the magic was released.

"I want you to try making a much smaller storm this time," The teacher said, "I want you to contain it to the space between your hands."

Weiss drew a breath and nodded, "Okay, I'll try."

She closed her eyes, letting the power that lay beneath her skin flow out. She felt pinpricks of aura around her eyes and knew they would be glowing. Pushing that train of thought aside, she focused on the storm that was slowly building between her palms.

Lightning flashed and a small peal of thunder echoed in her mind. A cloud formed and began to billow like an October lightning storm. Weiss felt the power surge for release, to escape and run rampant, but she maintained control.

She drew another breath and slowly released it, opening her eyes to watch her power roll between her hands.

"It's incredible." She said softly, marveling at how easily she could now draw it out.

Before, she could perform area attacks, and summon an ice version of Myrtenaster in her fight with Cinder. Now, with the full power, she could manipulate the very weather and so much more.

Slowly, she let the power fade as the storm diminished in her hands. She glanced up at Miss Goodwitch, who was watching with a critical eye.

"It is a valuable gift, a power that can save many lives, and destroy many more." The headmistress said, moving over to a set of chairs off to the side. Weiss moved as well, helping herself to some water as they took a break.

"So, can you explain the Maiden's story again, please?" Weiss asked.

"I believe you already know the story quite well." Miss Goodwitch said, picking up her tea cup. "Unless there is a specific question you had."

Weiss furrowed her brow and thought a moment, "Well, I suppose I was asking more about the powers themselves."

"Ah. I see." The Professor said, taking a moment to organize her thoughts. "Well, according to the legends…."

* * *

Weiss walked through the trees towards the spot near the launch pads, her mind still on the things Miss Goodwitch had said and what they meant.

She took a breath, enjoying the warm air and the scent of the forest. The sun was already getting low and the birds were beginning to settle down for the night, it was peaceful and refreshing.

Weiss cleared the last few trees and climbed up onto the rock, noticing the figure already sitting at the edge.

Softly, she walked up and sat down, glancing at her fiance and smiling a little at the peaceful look on his face. His eyes were closed as the sun lit up his face from behind them, casting a gold halo around him as it filtered through his hair.

She'd been doing that a lot lately, the absent thought made its way through her mind, smiling at little things. Jaune usually, or Yang and Blake. It felt good, honestly, to really smile. Back home, smiles were just masks that everyone wore, a disguise put on because it was expected instead of showing genuine happiness.

Nowadays, Weiss felt happier, she still played the cold, snappy heiress, but it was more for show than anything. She was truly enjoying herself here, with her team and her partner. _Something I thought impossible last year._ She mused. How the times were changing them.

"A lien for your thoughts?" She said, watching out over the forest.

She waited a moment without a response before she glanced at him, his eyes were still closed.

Ugh. Really? He'd fallen asleep sitting on the edge of a cliff.

Weiss reached over and flicked his nose, causing him to jerk slightly as he woke up.

"Huh, wha..?" Jaune snorted as he snapped back to reality, he quickly looked around before his eyes settled on her, "Weiss? When did you get here?"

"I've been sitting here a good five minutes. I can't believe you actually managed to fall asleep like that." Weiss said, rolling her eyes and huffing a little.

"Huh. Sparring with Qrow must have worn me out more than I thought." He said, yawning a little, "The sun just felt so good, I must have dozed off."

"At least you didn't dozed right off the cliff." Weiss said, glancing at the rather massive distance between them and the ground.

"I guess so. How was training?"

"It's going well, I am gaining greater control over it and am able to direct attacks with far greater accuracy. It really is a useful power."

Jaune hum'd and looked over at her, she felt his eyes as they took her in. It made her smile again, she really did love that about him, that he could make her feel like that with just a glance.

"I got something for you." She said, reaching into the small him satchel she wore.

"You got me a present?" Jaune asked, raising an eyebrow in interest.

"Yes." She held out a small, leather bound book for him to look at, "I know you probably won't use it, but it'd mean a lot to me if you did."

"What is it for?" Jaune asked, a little confused at the blank lines on the pages.

Weiss took a breath, holding it for a second before letting it out, "It's a dream journal. I thought that maybe if started writing down your nightmares, it might help a little."

The look on Jaune's face was skeptical, at best.

"They're more than just nightmares, Weiss." He said softly, a little hurt just barely hiding in the edges of his voice.

She quickly put a hand on his, over the book, "I know. I believe you, I met Fate." She said, trying to reassure him, "I just thought this might help. Getting all those memories out. If you don't want to, you don't have to. Just... Try it? It couldn't hurt, right?"

Jaune swallowed hard, taking her hand in his as he held the book, "I know. It just… It still hurts. I'd lost myself it the fight for so long. I tried every single thing I could think of, every alternative and variation. I had to keep going though, every time you guys gave me a reason to keep going, keep up hope that I'd find the answer."

He shook his head, his voice gaining a little strength, "And then, I came into this one, and I started to care again. I was still fighting, but it was one I _wanted_ to last…. I thought I'd lost it all during the attack, but you…"

He looked into her eyes, "You dragged me out, you saved me."

His smile was bright, his face that of pure relief, like a drowning man saved at the last moment. Weiss brought her hand up and touched his cheek, brushing the almost invisible stubble growing on his jaw.

"I had to drag you kicking and screaming the whole way," She teased, smiling at him, "But you saved me as well, you brought me out from the shallow shell I'd build up under my father's influence."

Jaune chuckled, glancing away for a moment. When he looked back, she could still see the years he'd existed through in the deep blue of his eyes, but there was a new hope in them as well.

She leaned towards him slightly, pulling his chin down to her as he followed her hand. A warm pleasure suffused her as their lips met, her heart still fluttering every time from the contact. She pressed a little more before breaking the kiss and leaning back, no hope of hiding her smile.

The goofy grin on Jaune's face did little for the heat in her cheeks.

Jaune took a deep breath and looked at the book she'd gave him, "I… I won't make any promises about this, but I will try." He said, "I'll start writing them down. Who knows, maybe it will help."

"If you ever need to talk about it, you know I'll listen." Weiss said, still smiling at him. He knew she would, no matter how crazy it might seem to anyone else.

"Well." Jaune said, suddenly standing, "Since you gave me something…" He trailed off, offering her a hand.

Weiss let him pull her to her feet, a questioning look on her face. It quickly turned to one of shock and surprise.

Jaune knelt down on one knee before her, on the rock overlooking the Emerald Forest, with the sun streaming through the trees behind them. The world looked brighter than ever as Jaune reached into his pocket.

"I know we've already made it official," He said, coughing slightly at the memory, "But I figured I should still put in the effort."

Slowly, he pulled a small, golden band from his pocket. It wasn't very large, but it shined it the sun that cut through the branches, a small, carefully cut diamond set in the center of the engagement ring.

Weiss's world ground to a halt, her breath held as he spoke. Her hands cupped in front of her mouth.

"I know it isn't the biggest thing in the world, but it is special." Jaune said as he held the ring out, "This is the ring that my dad gave mum when he proposed. When I was home last, she threatened to beat me if I didn't do this soon, and she wanted it to be something that came with special meaning."

Jaune took a breath as he looked her in the eyes, Weiss could feel the prickle of tears starting as she listened.

"So, Weiss Schnee," He paused, smile rivaling the sun, "Will you marry me?"

Weiss lunged forward, nearly knocking both of them off the cliff as she gave her response.

"Yes! Yesyesyes." She said, tears of joy in her eyes as he regained his balance and slipped the band over her left hand ring finger, fitting perfectly.

Jaune laughed as he stood up and pulled her in for another kiss, this one far longer.

"And to think, it only took a thousand years for you to say that." He said as he pulled back for breath.

Weiss slapped a hand against his chest, but she failed to even pretend to be mad. He held her there, standing at the edge. Nothing else mattered as she felt his arms wrap gently around her and she held his face in her hands. Life was perfect to her, the world could do as it pleased, Weiss didn't care.

She leaned up and kissed him again.

* * *

 **OMAKE** (consider this cannon, it just didn't fit the pacing and I didn't want to run this any longer or break it up into the next chapter)

Yang stumbled through the halls, her body shaking like a leaf as exhaustion weighed on her limbs like 10 ton weights. _How am I still alive? Professor Port is insane! I've never seen that many Grimm. Not even during the attack…_

She used her face to open the door to her room, almost falling face first onto the floor. She probably wouldn't have moved if she had, just passed out right there in the doorway. They'd fought non stop for over four hours. She'd ran out of ammo almost immediately, having to rely on normal punches and her semblance for the rest of the time.

Port didn't slow down once. It was like it didn't even effect him. It was ludicrous. There was no way they should have survived.

But they had, and now she had to reconsider every stupid, tall tale their fat professor had ever told, because it was probably fucking true.

Yang collapsed on her bed, not giving any thought to how badly she needed a shower, or how she was dirtying her sheets. She just wanted to sleep. For three weeks straight.

Of course, that was the perfect time for her scroll to go off. Yang wanted to scream, but didn't have the energy for it.

She let it ring until it went to voicemail. At which point it started ringing again.

Yang cursed loudly as she drew the damn thing out, clicking it open.

"WHaattt." She said, starting angry and dieing into a distressed whine.

"Bad time to call?" Juniper Arc asked, a grin on her face as her emerald eyes sparkled.

"Oh, Mrs. A, yea. Kinda." Yang said, struggling to sit up as every muscle in her body screamed in agony.

Mrs. Arc's grin fell a little, "Oh, I was hoping to get your help right now."

Yang's attention immediately snapped to the woman, "What's wrong?" She asked, concerned.

"I just got a text from Jaune, he's finally going to do it and I was hoping to have you record it for me."

Now, Yang was confused, "I'm sorry, do what? And why do you want me to record it?"

"He said he was going to give Weiss a ring." Mrs. Arc said, glancing away from the scroll for a moment. "I supp... Hello?"

Yang didn't hear her, having already bolted across the room, "Don't worry! I'll get it!" She yelled at the screen before hanging up and pulling up her team tracker.

Any exhaustion from her long fight in the forest was forgotten as she kicked down team RRNN's door, charged past the shocked team, ignored their cries of surprise and leapt out the window in the direction her scroll said Weiss and Jaune were.

There was no way in hell she was going to miss this.

* * *

 **Ok. So that happened.**

 **Jaeger, any thoughts?**

 **I 'm imagining ruby getting stuck inside the armory and never leaving. **

" **BUT YANG! SO MANY FRIENDS!" as she's covered in rifles.**

 **And you claim to care about plot…..**

 **Plot is the thing I stab because I love it. Omakes and crack are my heroin.**

 **Fair enough.**

 **Well, as fun as these are, the plot thickens. Will Jaune be the senpai he always wished to be? Will Weiss truly master her Maiden powers? ARE PORTS STORIES REAL?! FIN-**

 ***GRABS YAEGER AND SLAMS HIM INTO CABINET* Alriughttts. Nevermind that. I'm gonna go work on C6. Thanks again guys.**

 ***muffled voice* I WILL RETURN!**

 **Where are my padlocks...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alllrightttt. New chapter.**

 _ **Wooohooo! Gotta love talking to Flint on this. I no longer sound crazy to normies.**_

 **Kiss ass.**

 _ **It's about to be a foot up that ass.**_

 **Really gunning for two weeks in the cabinet there….**

* * *

Chapter 6

Same and new faces: The same places

Beta: ErenJaeger17

* * *

Cardin Winchester stood next to his team as the early morning light broke over the mountains. His blue eyes focused and his breathing measured as he watched the sun slowly rise over the distant mountains.

Beacon. It was… Nice to be the back, to be with his team again. To laugh at stupid jokes and sneak booze into their room again.

Cardin clenched his hands before slowly releasing them, for all that was the same, it felt so very alien now.

He swallowed as he turned his attention to the Headmistress standing in front of the four teams at the edge of the cliff. He recognised team CFVY, as well as another 3rd year team called RETH (Wreath), but the last one he didn't. Probably a 4th year.

Miss Goodwitch still cut the scary as hell image he'd have expected of some eldritch god given form. Her orders in class were followed to the letter as her icy glare cut off any rebellious ideas before they formed.

No one challenged her.

Except for the one guy standing next to her.

Jaune Arc.

Cardin had expected many things when he'd first been accepted into Beacon. That he'd follow in his father's footsteps, that he'd make his own mark in his family's history.

He expected to be the best of the best in his year, be the leader that everyone looked up to. To a point, he had that. His team followed him in everything, they deferred to him in serious matters and listened when he spoke.

He expected those weaker then him to stay out of his way.

Then Jaune Arc had come along, someone who rebuked the very ideas Cardin held Huntsmen to. Jaune didn't give a shit about fighting fair, or accepting his place. He did as he pleased, even in the face of the teachers.

That was something that infuriated Cardin to no end. For as much fun as it was to pick on those he considered below him every now and then, even he didn't dare actively do so in line of sight of one of the Professors.

Cardin could admit that he'd been a tad aggressive when it came to venting his frustration on the blond. But come on, he had it coming for tasering him in the balls.

He had thought Jaune would have fallen in place after his little jaunt in the Emerald Forest, and to be honest, he was hoping Arc might simply get expelled for all the stunts he pulled.

Then he'd pushed his luck, he had stepped over a line he didn't know was there the day he'd cornered Jaune in that classroom. When Jaune had snapped and showed him exactly where his place was.

Cardin was so far below Jaune it wasn't even funny.

Jaune wasn't lacking in skills. He'd made a joke of his spars because they were a _joke_ to him. Something so beneath him that he didn't even truly put in effort.

Save for when he sparred with Nikos. And hadn't that simply reinforced everything Cardin had come to believe. Jaune, the most unfit and - allegedly - unskilled first year in the history of Beacon, had driven the Champion harder and lasted longer than entire teams had.

Even after he'd lost, Cardin had the feeling that Jaune hadn't really given the fight his all.

Shaking his head to dispel his thoughts, he focused on Miss Goodwitch as she finally spoke up.

"Greetings, students." She began, stood with her back to the cliff as she addressed them much the same as during initiation. "I am glad to see you have all come prepared for today. As you have been made aware, your four teams have been selected for a new training regimen as a pilot group. Your performances have been noted and you were selected based on your proven skills."

Cardin nodded slightly when the Professor paused, he'd been proud when his team had been told that they had been selected for this class, even knowing little about what it was.

"Due to the tragedy that struck the school last year, Beacon has decided to create an advanced class for a select group of students. This class will primarily led by Mr Arc," She held one hand towards the man the same age as Cardin, "Though I will be monortining any and all excessive actions and will be in charge of punishments if these actions fall out of Beacon's rules."

Cardin was more than a little surprised at that. So Arc was going to be their instructor. He wasn't completely sure on how that sat with him, and judging by the look on Adel's face, she was even more surprised.

"With that, I shall leave it to Mr Arc to explain today's lesson." Miss Goodwitch said, taking a step back and nodding to Jaune.

Jaune gave a tired sigh, despite the fact it was only about 6:30 ish in the morning.

"Alright." He began, "I'm not happy about this, and you probably aren't either, but arguing over this isn't worth getting into a fight with Glynda," Glynda shot Jaune a glare that made Cardin's blood run cold just by seeing it, "That's how it's going to be, deal with it."

Jaune wheeled over a cart that Cardin had seen earlier. It was stacked with black, single strap combat bags.

"Each team gets a set of bags with the colored tape on it, one color per team." He said, indicating the student's to come retrieve the color of their choice.

Jaune waited till they'd gathered all the bags before pushing the cart out of the way.

"This is your assignment," Jaune said, sounding more than a tad bored, "You each now have one piece of a tracking box. Your objective for this lesson is to convene with your team upon landing, assemble your tracker and make your way back to the cliff here."

Cardin nodded along, making sure his team was paying attention as well. Even if he didn't like Jaune, the guy had more than proven his ability in Cardin's eyes.

It was a little strange to actually see Jaune act like this. Even more so to see Miss Goodwitch nodding along.

"Once you have assembled your tracker, you are not, under any circumstances to disassemble it or deactivate it. Doing so will result in immediate disqualification. Once assembled, your tracker will send out its location once every hour. You can check this on the server link I just sent all of you on your scrolls."

Jaune paused and looked over the teams, Coco raised her hand. "What's the point of the tracker?" She asked.

"To tell the other teams exactly where yours is." Jaune said, grinning as everyone took a moment to understand the implications of what he'd said. "The second objective of this exercise is to capture two other trackers from opposing teams. Again, the destruction of a tracker will result in disqualification."

Coco raised her hand again, a calculating look on her face, "So we have an hour to track and find two other teams based on a single ping?" She asked.

Cardin furrowed his brow as he began planning on just how his team was going to manage that. They were the youngest of the four teams, so that was going to be an issue.

"No." Jaune said, causing everyone's attention to snap back to him. "You have one hour to activate your tracker and make it back to the cliff. The second objective's time limit is to the end of the month."

 _That_ caused the teams to fall dead silent as they considered the rules. A whole month to track down two other teams. This just went from a simple game of hide and seek to war fought in subterfuge.

Cardin raised his hand, waiting for Jaune to nod to him, "Where are the safe zones, and are there limitations on where we can try and take the trackers?"

Jaune grinned at Cardin, nodding again, "Good question." He said, "The answer: Is none. Not even in class or outside of Beacon. An additional rule is that one of you must keep the tracker with you or in the same room as you, but it must stay accessible."

"Basically no throwing it off the docks or burying it." He said as he looked up and down the row of students.

Mumbles broke out between the teams as once again. No safe zones meant they had to be on guard for a whole month. Not even their rooms would be safe.

"With that said," Miss Goodwitch spoke up, shushing everyone in an instant, "Any disruptions to class, any property damage or injury to those not involved in this exercise will be grounds for detention and disqualification."

"You will be scored on how long you keep hold of your own tracker, as well as how you chose to defend it, your tactics in retrieving the others, and your ability to do so without causing disruptions." Jaune clarified, "That said, no one gets any points if the trackers are not secured."

"Any more questions?" Jaune asked, taking a step back to stand next to Miss Goodwitch.

Cardin glanced between his teammates, but they all looked at him and nodded, showing that they understood.

"What happens if we lose our tracker to another team?" A redhead faunus on another team asked, raising his hand.

"If your tracker is taken, then your team is out. You get points for how long you kept it, but that is it. You don't get to try and steal it back. You can fight for it in the moment, but once it's clear its been taken, you're out." Jaune stated, and the look on Miss Goodwitch's face said that if they tried, they'd pay for it.

When no one else raised their hands with a question, he pulled out his scroll again.

Cardin looked over his team again, opening his mouth to lay out a plan when the world went topsy turvy. With a silent curse - or more accurately, a curse lost in the wind as he hurtled through the air - Cardin was forced to focused on his landing strategy and hoped his team could land somewhat close together.

This year was going to be a tough one.

* * *

Jaune watched the students as they faded into the distance, a yawn causing him to remember exactly what time it was.

"Alright. So we can check the cams to make sure they actually make it back in time. I'm gonna go nap in Port's class." Jaune said, turning and walking away.

Directly into an invisible wall.

"You will do no such thing." Glynda stated, not even bothering to look at him, keeping her attention on the large scroll showing the teams.

Jaune grumbled into the dirt, refusing to move. The grass actually felt rather pleasant, still cool from the night and very soft. His eyes drifted shut.

The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he felt the telltale sensation of Glynda using her semblance.

He ignored it. If she wanted to play games, she could. He was going to try and take a nap. His eyes cracked open after another yawn, he expected to see many blades of grass in front of his eyes.

Instead, he saw a 1,000 foot drop to the forest floor below.

His stomach decided it didn't really like his choice in breakfast at the moment, causing him to clamp down hard on it to keep it in.

He glanced up at Glynda, glaring coldly at the woman.

"If you won't show any interest in monitoring the teams from here, then perhaps you would prefer to do so from down there." She said calmly, riding crop held lazily in one hand.

Jaune narrowed his eyes.

Glynda raised an eyebrow, moving her crop a little and making Jaune's stomach do uncomfortable things.

"Fine. Fine." He said, trying to gain control over his finicky air sick body. "I'll monitor the teams from up here."

Glynda nodded, drawing him back over the edge and releasing him.

Jaune face planted from three feet in the air. "That was unnecessary." He grumbled through the grass.

"So are you going to tell me what you did to the packs?" Glynda asked, ignoring his comment and making Jaune to glance over.

"Huh?" He asked, not quite sure what she meant.

"You made those trackers into three parts. What's in the fourth bag?" Glynda asked, her eyes piercing a hole in the side of his head.

Ah, she'd noticed that.

"Nothing important."

"Mr Arc."

"Fine. Nothing that'll cause permanent damage."

Glynda place a hand over her face as every irritating thing Jaune had done came rushing back, causing her to wonder exactly why they'd thought making him a teacher was a good idea.

* * *

Jason Redds landed hard, rolling to his feet and shrugging his shoulders as he surveyed the damaged tree behind him. Back into the forest again. His fox faunus ears twitched in the cool morning air as he listened for any Grimm.

With a shrug he drew his weapon, a two handed broadsword. This wasn't the first time, probably wouldn't be the last time he'd be thrown into the woods. He rested his blade tip first into the ground and leaned across the guard. He picked his scroll out of the back pocket of his pants and opened the team chat as he waited for the others to sync up.

"Eric here."

"Travis here."

"Harper here."

Jason nodded to himself as everyone sounded off, "Ping locations. We'll meet here." He said, dropping a marker on the team shared map.

"Sounds good. Quick rally, then complete the first objective. Anyone have eyes on the others?" Harper Guyabano asked, the sound of her moving already indicated she was enroute. She was by far the most agile of the team, lithe and fast as a whip. What she lacked in heavy hitting, she made up for in striking twice as many times.

"I saw CFVY land about a klick to the west of my position." Eric Coralson said, also sounding like he was moving already. Eric was a little larger than Jason's 6'3", 192 lbs, holding about an inch in height and at least fifteen or so pounds.

"Same with CRDL to the east, I didn't get a read on the last ones." Travis Coralson reported. Between the twins, there were little difference in appearance.

"Alright. Let's meet up and get this thing going. Forty-five min. till we have to be back on the cliffs." Jason said, closing his scroll and moving towards the meeting spot. He slung his Broadsword over his back and darted through the trees.

Five minutes and a few small Grimm saw team RETH reunited in a small clearing. The three boys and one girl of the team having dropped their packs on the ground between them, the twins, Eric and Travis standing watch as Jason and Harper looked over the packs.

"Anything look weird?" Eric asked over his shoulder, the custom DMR in his calloused hands held at a lazy ready.

"Not yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if Arc pulled something fast on us." Harper responded, slowly opening the first bag to carefully pull out a black box and set it down in front of her.

"You really think he'd trap the bags?" Jason asked, picking up the box and examining it. Once again, he was glad for her sharp mind. Her intellect had saved them more than once in their classes, especially when Eric and Travis decided _not_ to follow directions.

"You heard about his spars and shit, you think he wouldn't? Not like the teachers would stop him." Eric scoffed.

Harper opened the second bag and handed a smaller, rectangular box to Jason, who slipped it into place in the housing box.

"Is it just me, or does that kid get away with a lot of shit?" Travis asked, glancing over his shoulder from the other side of the group, his short range SMG pointed outwards. Jason hadn't thought much of the short range weapon at first, but multiple experiences had taught him better.

Jason hummed, waiting for Harper to open the third bag, "Didn't you sleep with him last year?" He asked her, a grin tugging on his lips.

Harper glanced up, the bag in her hands already half open, a little pink in her cheeks, "What if I did?"

"Just curious where that condom under Eric's bed came from." Jason grinned, "I know those two like playing grabass, but I think they'd have the balls to actually commit."

Harper blushed harder, her eyes wide as she felt her other teammates zero in on her. Blackmail like that was worth a fortune. Which was probably why Jason hadn't brought it up before.

Shame for him Arc had just handed her an easy payback.

"Did you use my bed to…" ***BANG** * Eric's question was cut off as Harper angled the bag in her hands towards Jason, yanking the zipper open and pulling the pin on the flashbang/paint mine hidden inside.

* * *

Glynda sighed and rubbed her eyes as she watched the feed, half of RETH now covered in bright pink paint and screaming on the ground. Eric having unfortunately been standing behind Jason, and recieved a good amount to the blast their teammate had sprung on them.

"Was that really necessary?" She asked, glaring at Jaune.

"Well I can't say I expected them to use it like that…" Jaune said, his grin saying he approved of the action.

He'd planned on it being a simple lesson on why you should always double check suspicious gear and/or make sure you didn't accidentally store your grenades improperly.

That had been an annoyingly short repeat.

* * *

Eric glared at his brother as the spots in his eyes slowly blinked away, if only his ears would stop ringing now, everything would be great.

Travis was almost doubled over with laughter, using his scroll to take a picture of his brother and Jason. Wiping a tear from his eye, he put his scroll away. Eric's face made it evident he would be wiping all evidence of this event in the next week.

Jason finished spitting paint out of his mouth, having to take his sunglasses off to see properly. He frowned at the now ruined accessory in his hand before pointing at Harper, "You're buying me a new pair." He growled.

Any visual intimidation was completely lost due to the fact that his upper body was covered in pink paint. His longish, light red hair was blasted backwards and his goatee was plastered to his chin.

All in neon pink.

The only part that wasn't pink was where his sunglasses had protected his eyes, giving him a reverse raccoon look. His large fox ears didn't help him any, as those were currently pinned flat on his head.

Harper was busy trying to recover from her laughter, laying sideways on the ground and trying to breath. "At least I can you two apart now." She managed, pointing to Eric's splattered face.

"Grimm." Travis said casually, pointing to the three beowolves stalking the edge of their clearing.

"Harper. Deal with them." Jason ordered, pointing a finger at the girl before pulling the last bag over to his lap and carefully opening it to retrieve the final piece.

The dirty blonde haired member of their team struggled to her feet, still laughing with Travis as she stumbled forwards, unhooking her battle axes from her waist and loping towards the beasts.

The girl's blue mini skirt swished in the breeze as she double checked her bracers, trying to reclaim a little bit of professionalism, but laughing anyways.

The Grimm, if it was even possible, looked a little confused, probably wondering why this person was radiating joy in their presence instead of the fear their instincts were fed on.

"Thirty minutes till we're cliff side." Jason yelled after her, sliding the tracking box together and pulling out his phone. Sure enough, a small marker showed their position. He noted two other marks on the map, but assuming the others had had stayed in their positions after activating the device, the mark must stay on the map until the next ping.

"Round up." Jason called, climbing to his feet, standing between the brothers. He picked up one of the bags and tossed the tracker in it, securing it beside his sword and taking point between the twins. Harper trotted over a moment later, a pleased grin in place.

It was going to be an interesting month, Jason couldn't help but think, new teachers, new classes.

A smile broke across his brightly colored face as they moved out.

He loved being a Huntsman.

* * *

Blake Belladonna stood off to the side of Doctor Oobleck's desk as he ran through his notes for the class. She wasn't quite sure why he needed an assistant, but she supposed it couldn't be any worse then having to try and take notes during one of his lectures.

When she'd shown up at his office, he'd immediately handed her a stack of papers. A pop quiz on some of the material they had last year, no less than eighty questions, and asked her to set them out on the desks before the students showed up.

After that, she'd gotten a crash course on his syllabus for the month. Unfortunately, she'd only only been able to understand about a quarter of what the good doctor had said, given that he'd managed to brew - and consume - two pots of coffee, write out a rather impressive outline on pre-Great War hierarchy on the blackboard, and made a run to the library for a book he needed, all while talking about what he had planned for the month.

Blake's head hurt.

They still had about half an hour before the first class started.

"So Miss Belladonna," Doctor Oobleck said, sitting at his office desk with an open book in front of him, "How is your father doing I suppose the life of a Chieftain is a busy one?"

Blake blinked, "He's doing well, he's been busy trying to quell some of the more radical groups that have sprung up after the news of the attack reached Menagerie." She said, not all that surprised that he'd figured out who her father was.

"I see I see. I suppose it must be hard for him," The man actually looking sympathetic as he took a drink of coffee, "I can't imagine what he must be dealing with now."

Blake nodded, her parents had sounded so relieved to get her call after the attack, her mother almost sobbing at finally hearing from her after so long. She'd almost broke down herself at hearing how much pain she'd caused them by ignoring them for so long.

She'd made an effort to call at least every other week now.

"You know Ozpin is considering inviting Mr Belladonna to visit here some point in the near future I would love the opportunity to visit with the man myself though I suppose it would be rather difficult seeing as how he must be busy with trying to run Menagerie in the turmoil of this time." Oobleck went on, as usual, barely taking a breath between sentences as he spoke.

Blake's ears perked up from under her bow, "Ozpin invited my father here?" She asked, "Why?"

"To help calm some of the more hot headed individuals in the counsel I would assume." Oobleck poured himself another cup of coffee, "It would do the world some good if we could set aside some of our more… shallow views towards each other for a change."

Blake was still impressed at Doctor Oobleck's approach to equal rights. She'd found very few in positions of power that viewed everyone exactly equal, that people were people, no matter their color or added features.

"I'm sure my father would love that," Blake said, smiling a little, "He always said that if we were simply willing to talk to one another, there is little we are unable to do."

Oobleck sat back in his chair and sipped his coffee, "Your father certain sounds like a wise man. I hope I am able to meet with him someday."

Blake nodded, walking over to the coffee pots in the corner of the room to retrieve her own cup of coffee - not Oobleck's blend, seeing as she'd rather not visit the realm of touchable colors. After taking a sip and allowing the caffeine to reinvigorate her senses, she took a good look at his office again.

It was about what she'd expected from the man's personality. The normally spacious room was chock full of books, printed off papers. There were research papers pinned to the walls, a few even on the ceiling. She couldn't understand how the man ever found anything, but given his taste in coffee, he could probably go through the entire place in a matter of minutes.

It was when she was studying one of the corners of the room, occupied by a coat rack, that she noticed something familiar.

A black felt bowler hat hung on one of the pegs.

Blake slowly set her cup down, half listening to Oobleck as he muttered to himself about some discrimination in the dates of a paper he was working on. Slowly, she walked across the room to the coat rack.

 _Why would_ _ **that man's**_ _hat be in Doctor Oobleck's office?_ She wondered to herself as she confirmed if it really was his hat. Blake swallowed, it must have been the one he was wearing on the train, given the blood stain and dust that still clung to it.

Very carefully, Blake reached a hand out towards it, inches away from it.

Very suddenly, Doctor Oobleck was right next to her. His hand in front of hers as if protecting the hat from her touch.

"Please," Oobleck said softly, "Please don't touch that."

Blake would have been alarmed at the Doctor's actions, even though he never once touched her, if it wasn't for the tone of his voice. She couldn't recall ever hearing him speak so slowly, nor with the pleading in his words that had made her pause.

"Professor?" Blake asked quietly, "Why do you have this."

"Because it's all I have left." Oobleck said, straightening up when it was clear Blake wasn't going to touch the hat. The man took a deep breath and let it out, "It is all I have left to remember him."

"Sir, how did you know Roman Torchwick?"

Blake waited as her professor slowly made his way back to his desk, her following behind.

"Sir, why would you have his hat? Roman Torchwick was one of the worst examples of humanity." She said when the man didn't answer her. "I don't understand why you would…"

She trailed off as he brushed some paperwork aside and picked up a framed picture from underneath. When he turned around, Blake' breath caught in her throat.

"Roman… He wasn't always like what you saw in the end…." Oobleck paused, "He was once a promising young man with a future. A brother in all but blood, though that'd be true anyways for all the times one of us were in the infirmary." A weak chuckled escaped his lips.

Blake swallowed hard as she looked at a young Bartholomew Oobleck, one arm slung around the shoulder of a teenage Roman Torchwick. Two other teens, wearing bright smiles posed beside them.

The team name TORCH written in marker across the top. It had been faded by time, a few stains dotted the photo and the edges had been worn. It had creases down the center of it, making it easy to imaging it had been carried in a pocket for a long time.

"I'm.. I'm so sorry." Blake managed, glancing down at the floor. She really wasn't sure what to say, any accusatory thoughts that might have made their presence known were erased before they formed.

"It is not your fault, Miss Belladonna." Doctor Oobleck said, a honest, sad smile on his face, "But thank you for understanding."

"I had no idea," Blake said, taking another look at the photo, "I am sorry for your loss." That explained his absence from the school last year, after they'd crashed the train.

The crash that had resulted in the death of Torchwick.

"It is in the past now, no way to change it. All there is to do is simply never forget and to learn from the mistakes." Doctor Oobleck said, straightening back up. He took a long drink of his coffee, his usual demeanour returning as he set the picture back down on his desk.

"Now enough of my past. Let us prepare for the day and help to expand the minds of those who shall take up the mantel after us." The man said, picking up his papers and moving towards the door, coffee in hand.

"The past is wasted if we do not learn from it, is it not, Miss Belladonna?" He said, his eyes a little brighter as she followed.

"Indeed, Doctor." Blake said, smiling a little to herself as she moved to open the door for him.

* * *

Cardin topped the edge of the cliff ten minutes before the time expired, scanning the area around him before offering a hand to Dove. As he pulled the other teen up, they both moved a few feet to the side and further from the cliff as their other teammates crawled over the edge.

"See anything?" Dove asked, eyes on the tree line off to the side.

Cardin shook his head, keeping his eyes open for any threats. They'd made it back with only a few encounters with the Grimm, and almost no sign of the other teams. They'd heard gunshots once, but they were some distance away.

Russel kept to the back of the small group as Cardin took point with Sky and Dove flanking him, the pack the tracker had came in secured to Russel's back.

They pushed forwards to where their teachers were waiting for them, their senses on edge for any ambushes that could be sprung on them. So far, nothing.

Not that it really did anything for their nerves.

Cardin led them towards Jaune, making sure to keep a safe distance from any brush or rocks that someone could hide behind.

Jaune looked up from his scroll, nodding to them as they approached. "Ok, CRDL checked in. That's the last of them." He said, pushing himself up and walking towards the main buildings.

"Good work. Try not to make too much of a mess." He said without even glancing back.

Cardin growled a little, looking to Miss Goodwitch to see if she had anything to say. The Blonde professor simply nodded to them, "Well done, gentlemen." She said, "You made it back within the time limit with your first objective complete. Good luck in the rest of the assignment."

Team CRDL nodded respectfully to her before following the direction Jaune took to the main campus. They still had other classes today.

"Hey, Cardin." Russel spoke up from the back, making the larger teen glance back.

"What's up."

"Eh, you got a big pink spot on your armor." Russel said, pointing behind his own back for reference.

"Ugh. Come on, I just washed this thing yesterday." Cardin groused, making a note to pick up some more armor polish next time he was in Vale. "Alright, tight formation, let's not be the first ones out of this thing."

The others voiced their agreement as they fell back into position and headed to their next class.

/Break

Team CRDL sat in the far corner of Professor Port's classroom, tucked in next to the fire exit with Sky keeping an eye on his scroll, so far it looked like only one other team was even close to their location. That team being RETH, who were position much like themselves, but on the opposite side of the room.

While they normally would have changed into their school uniforms by now, they'd gotten back from the cliff's only twenty or so minutes before Port's class. Therefore, Cardin had asked that they be allowed to stay in their combat gear for the lesson and Port had agreed to let it slide, asking that they let him know should be necessary again.

"Is it just me, or does it look like that fox eared guy took the paint mine straight to the face." Dove whispered, leaned over a little as Port gave his introductions to the new year.

"Kinda. I wonder if he had his nose in the bag." Sky commented, getting a soft chuckle from the others.

Sure enough, the fox faunus's face was still completely pink, though his wet hair indicated he'd at least tried to wash it off.

A sinking feeling began to worm its way into Cardin's mind, "Hey Dove," He whispered, "Can you try to wipe that paint off my armor?"

Dove raised an eyebrow, but reached behind the larger teen and ran a finger over the paint mark, removing a streak of it. Cardin let out a soft sigh, at least his armor wasn't ruined.

"Uhh." Dove's tone made the others glance at him as he rubbed his painted fingers together. "Guys, this stuff… Doesn't come off skin…"

"Wait… Is that from a dye pack?" Russel asked, staring at Dove's finger, "Like banks use to mark thieves who open money bags? That shit doesn't come out for like a week, right?"

Conversation stilled between the team as they all stared at the pink faced faunus across the room. Now that Cardin looked, the guy did _not_ appear very happy. Not one bit. At least he figured that's what the whole 'ears pinned straight back and murder burning in his eyes' thing meant.

The fact that the faunus's teammates were sitting considerably farther away from him then strictly necessary cemented the image.

Cardin turned to Sky, "Ok, I'll be the first to say it, thank the gods you thought to actually check the packs before opening them."

The others mumbled their thanks, keeping their voices low so as to not be heard. None of them wanted to imagine how annoying having their face painted pink for a whole week would be.

* * *

The dorm room of CRDL was fairly quiet. Class were over for the day, which left them a few hours worth of daylight before the sun set and they'd be heading to bed.

Cardin sat near the desk in one corner while his team was spread out through the room. He glanced over at the window again, half missing the nice breeze that usually flowed into the room. Sanity had ruled that they should close it, however, seeing as they had a roof access right above their room. None of them were willing to risk a late night raid from another team, so they'd locked the window and placed several items in such a way that they balanced against the glass pane to serve as an early warning device.

Sky was busy reading a history book for Dr Oobleck's class, sitting against the edge of his bed with his back to the wall. The occasional rustle of paper and the sound of a pen scratching down notes accented the otherwise quiet room.

Dove busied himself some weapons maintenance, a small box of screwdrivers and small tools lay open next to him as he sat on the floor. The quieter boy was mechanically servicing his weapon, each piece taken apart with care before being cleaned and put back in place. The typically lidded expression was pinched in a frown.

Cardin glanced to his last teammate, Russel, who was sat cross legged on his bed with the tracking box set before him and weapons at easy reach.

Cardin hunched forward in his chair, wishing it was more like it had been before the attack. They'd be making jokes or drinking smuggled beer. Making stupid jokes at one another or something.

He wasn't blind. He could see they were still shaken. Hell, he was too.

They'd all faught Grimm before and they all new what it was to lose a loved one. Even if it was just in a conventional way. Russel had lost his sister to illness, and both Dove and Sky had lost loved ones one way or another.

Cardin closed his eyes, he'd never imagined what an attack on a civilian population would look like. Even if he had, he could never have come close to the actual sight of it.

He'd once told himself that he hated the Faunus, that they were just animals pretending to be human. That humans were the superior ones. Now, he wasn't sure what to think.

He still hated them, to a point. The White Fang were nothing but savage beasts, cunning ones, but beasts no less.

He wanted to be able to out all Faunus in the same category, but after what he'd seen in the attack, Cardin wasn't sure he could. He closed his eyes and memories swept into him again.

" _Please, Huntsman! Please get my baby out of here." The woman had begged him, tears in her eyes as she tried to push the child into Cardin's arms. Both mother and child had dog ears. Cardin sneered at them and rushed by with his team._

 _Animals, all of them. She wanted him to help her when her kind was doing this?_

 _The woman cried out again, trying to catch up to the team as they rushed through the fairgrounds set up in the court yards. "Please! She's just a child!" The woman begged as her child sobbed in her arms_

 _Cardin ignored the glances from his team as they moved towards the main building. Fire and smoke, the screams of civilians and the roar of Grimm pounded in his ears._

 _A Creep tore through the ground between the team, throwing them away from each other. Cardin landed hard, rolling to his feet before charging the creature, Dove joining him in the rush as a pack of Beowolves ripped through a food stand and attacked Sky and Russel. They'd be fine, Cardin told himself, he had to deal with the Creep before it could attack from the rear._

 _The Creep charged Cardin, forcing the armored teen to the side with a swipe of its armored head Dove's sword scored a thin line on its rear leg as it shot past._

 _Confusion swept over Cardin as the monster ignored them._

 _It focused on the largest sources of negativity._

 _Cardin heard the woman's scream. He turned and charged._

 _The scream was silenced with a sound Cardin wished he could purge from his mind for eternity._

 _A moment later, the Grimm lay dead, dissolving into nothingness as Cardin stared at what was left._

The feeling of someone resting a hand on his shoulder brought Cardin out of his memories, a glance up showed Dove standing next to him. One more pat on the shoulder was all he got before the teen moved past.

Cardin swallowed as he shook his head free. Something had to change, and it had to be now. He'd wanted to become a Huntsman to make his father proud, to carry on the family legacy and he was damn well going to do it.

The creak of his chair flexing as he stood up drew the team's attention.

Now wasn't the time to mourn past mistakes, it was time to make sure that didn't happen again.

"Armor up." He said, nodding as the others quickly moved to their gear. It was time to see what this new teacher had to offer.

* * *

Jaune grumbled as he looked at the team standing opposite him. He really should have expected something like this. The headmaster had straight up announced that anyone could come to him for training, and the students were at least smart enough to consider of taking advantage of that.

Still.

"I really, really thought you four would be the last ones to come to me for help." He said flatly, he wasn't really upset, just annoyed that his nap had been interrupted.

Cardin Winchester, dressed in his armor, crossed his arms and glared at Jaune, "We aren't exactly thrilled about this either, but we'll take what we can get."

"What do you want specifically?"

"Team training." Cardin said bluntly, his team nodding along behind him.

"You don't need it, so I'm not going to waste my time."

The team recoiled a little, glancing between each other in confusion. Cardin looked between them, then back to Jaune. "What do you mean? We need to get better, and the headmaster said you were…"

Cardin leapt back as Jaune was suddenly inside his guard, swinging a right hook for the larger man's face. It happened without warning, as Cardin took an extra step back to block the follow up shot to his kidney, Sky and Dove jumped in as quick as they could. Sky jumped high with a flying punch and Dove sweeping low with his legs.

Jaune blocked Sky in the air, jumping to avoid Dove's leg while grabbing Sky in an armlock and twisting him into Russel, who tried to attack from in front of Cardin.

Jaune's feet touched the ground and he pivoted at the hip, ducking under Cardin's fist. He moved around the team leader, driving a strait left into Dove's face.

None of them had their weapons drawn, they didn't have the chance to.

Dove's head snapped back from the punch, but Russel came up into Jaune's guard before there was a chance for Jaune to land another blow. A quick flury of jabs and blocks were followed by Jaune being forced to break it off when Sky and Cardin attacked from the back.

Jaune moved with a fluid grace that would have made Velvet jealous as he caught Sky's right hook by the elbow and pulled him into Cardin. Cardin spun on his foot, directing Sky around him rather than into him, completing the rotation to throw a haymaker.

Jaune spun under, his coat flaring out, hooking his hand under Russel's arm and spinning him off balance.

Team CRDL regrouped in a second, all of them facing Jaune in a semi circle around. They were breathing a little hard, but their eyes were bright and wary.

Jaune dropped his guard and fell into a relaxed stance as he turned and walked over to the side of the training ring.

Sky looked at Cardin, raising an eyebrow. Cardin shrugged back before turning back to Jaune.

"What the hell was that?" Cardin asked, trying to figure out what the point of Jaune's attack was.

"I said you don't need team training." Jaune said, picking up a water bottle.

"You just picked us apart." Cardin said flatly, not liking how Jaune had been able to take on all four of them, even if they were all unarmed.

More than that, he hated how casually Jaune acted. Cardin and his team were _not_ weak, yet Jaune acted like they were nothing.

Jaune let out a sigh, sitting down on a bench. "Picked you apart because I'm faster, and because of that you couldn't pin me down."

Cardin's eyes narrowed.

"That said, you all covered for each other and didn't let me get more than one strike in at a time. You worked around each other and didn't get in the way." Jaune said, looking between them, "You're teamwork is excellent, I mean it. You just need to be better individually, a team is only as strong as its weakest member. Get better by yourself and you'll get better together."

Cardin stared at Jaune for a long moment, looking for any sarcasm in his eyes or words. There was none, and there was nothing in those blue orbs like he'd seen that day in the classroom.

Jaune looked bored, at best.

Cardin looked between Sky, Dove, and Russel, getting raised eyebrows and grins. Despite his attitude, Jaune had complimented them.

Cardin nodded slowly, pulling out his mace and resting the tip on the floor. "Alright, so we need to get better individually. Train us, _professor_." He said, his lips twisting up a little in a grin.

Jaune didn't miss the complete lack subtlety sarcasm in his words, but he did stand up. With a quick mumble about getting back at Ozpin, he looked over the team. CRDL got a bad rap for their arrogance and generally shitty attitude in their first year. But Jaune had learned to respect them in the times after the Fall.

They were loyal, brave kids. Once they got some sense knocked into them anyways. Jaune reached up and scratched the back of his head as he thought for a moment, remembering the shit they'd put him through at the start of last year.

He also remembered the times they'd given their lives to save people. Sometimes it was during the attack, other times it was trying to defend a village in the wake of it.

With a sigh, he made up his mind. If this was his last life, he might as well make as good of a difference as he could. CRDL had their issues, but he did too. Maybe this whole teaching thing wouldn't be to bad if he knew the results would actually matter.

Shucking off his coat, Jaune laid it to the side as he drew out his weapon. He looked over the teens stood in front of him and nodded.

"Dove. You're up first." He said, watching the others move to the edge of the ring. He could make a difference now, what he said and did mattered this time. Jaune grinned a little to himself as Dove drew his sword and fell into a readied stance.

* * *

 **So. We got a new team. I didn't want to bring in OCs, but Coeur kinda… Killed all the main villains.**

 _ **Yeah… kinda hard to fight murdered Adam, killed Cinder, eviscerated Mercury and Emerald… *shrugs***_

 ***Scratches head* Yea, So….. Shit. NEW PEOPLE! YAY!**

 _ **With all the baggage and quirks we can dream… the school can always be more on fire kids. Never forget that.**_

 **So… yea. Cardin is a thing. Personal thing here, I do like team CRDL. Not for their presentation but because of their skill and potential in plot. They honestly are very skilled and are a strong team outside of cannon view of the main cast. So here they are, along with more characters.**

 _ **Basically, he's a Cardin fanboy, so Cardin's not gonna be a cardboard cutout. Or is that just wanting a normal character? You decide.**_

… **Wut….**

 **Anyways. Time is dragging on. I hope you guys' aren't getting bored yet, as there is MUCH to see and do. Anyways. PLOT!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Yo Jaeger. What's the date?**

 _ **Way too damn long. **_

**So what you're saying is….**

 _ **Jaune's giving us a disapproving stare right now.**_

 **Well. Shit.**

* * *

Chapter 7

I still don't have any idea's for chapter names.

BETA: ErenJaeger17

* * *

Ozpin sat behind his desk with a rather intimidating stack of papers in front of him. He opened his holo screen and sighed at the small number displayed in the left hand corner, the one that indicated how many unread messages he had.

It was a lot.

As thankful as he was for Miss Schnee's help in the morning, what with organising and uploading the new student record. There was little she could help with now.

It was only mid afternoon, but Ozpin felt like he'd been dragged behind a bullhead for all the paperwork he'd completed. And yet, the pile had yet to decrease in any significant manner. He _almost_ missed his cabin, isolated from anyone and everyone. He sighed, that wasn't an honest thought. He'd resolved himself to fight Salem and her forces, to not sit aside in ignorance as _she_ corrupted and tainted the world for her own amusement.

He really need some more coffee.

A fresh pot brewed from the specialized compartment in his desk solved that issue.

With a calming sigh, Ozpin allowed his head to rest against the back of his chair, feeling the warmth of the cup in his hands as it soothed his thoughts. It reminded him of when he was younger, of the bowls of soup his mother used to make him.

She wasn't _his_ mother though. Not really. She never had a son named _Ozpin_. It was… Jacob? Jeremiah? Had it really been that long, that he'd forgotten his name?

More disquieting thoughts.

He took a long sip of coffee.

There was paperwork to do, and little time to dwell on the past.

A pen scratched its way across a form, filling in the details required of a request to the council. Beacon was in need of new bullheads. While they still had enough to ferry the students to and from Vale, when the field trips and smaller missions began again, transportation was going to become an issue.

He inked his signature across the dotted line and placed it aside.

A form for the purchase of Dust was next in the stack. Thankfully, Ozpin only needed to read through the list - Miss Goodwitch had already filled it out - and approve it. A small grin tugged at the Headmaster's lips at the sight of the name of the company.

He wouldn't be all that surprised if there was a little friction during negotiations.

Miss Schnee had certainly seemed chipper throughout the day, her once cold and sharp personality quelled. He'd caught her smiling to herself constantly when she thought he wasn't paying attention, and she constantly rubbed the small band on her left hand. Ozpin smiled to himself at the memory, it served as a pleasant distraction from the work he had to finish before the week was out.

His smile was quickly washed away by the next paper he took from the stack. The official seal of the Head of Vale Security emblazoned on the front, the twin war axes in the center made the old man sigh.

He figured something like this was coming in the near future, he simply wished it could have waited a few more days. The letter opener tore the paper with a tad more force then strictly necessary, his eyes glaring at the letter once it was free.

 _To Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy,_

 _You are hereby summoned to present the findings of your investigation into the attack of Beacon Academy, to the Board of Vale Security this Saturday at noon._

 _I trust you have had adequate time to investigate the person(s) involved in the event that cost our Kingdom so greatly and that there is a satisfying answer for the victims of the attack that took place during the Vital Festival. I also hope you have in place a plan to bring those responsible to justice._

 _Signed,_

 _Rodger Goldson, Head of Vale Security_

Ozpin took a deep breath and slowly let it out through his nose, placing the letter to the side and taking a deep drink of his coffee. People were wanting answers, wanting someone to blame.

He couldn't give them the truth.

Some wouldn't believe it without proof, they would run him out for telling what they believed to be a lie and spitting on those who had died. Those that did believe it would surely cause panic, riots, and worse, drawing more and more negativity to an already injured kingdom.

Salem had used rumors of the Maidens, spread through her agents and followers, promises of power over the elements and magic to sew dissent and greed for millennia. Daggers in the dark and poison in drinks slew hundreds throughout the years, the numbers only ever decreasing when Ozpin forced the Maidens into hiding. Not that it stopped it, just slowed it down.

If he were to bantenty tell the world of what truly lay in the far reaches of the world, it would surely be the end of humanity.

He'd worked for so long to keep the world alive, he was not going to throw it away now.

* * *

Yang Xiao Long breezed through the school halls, happy to be out of classes earlier than almost everyone else. Since Professor Port only had three classes scheduled for the day, and being assigned as his assistant, she got to skip out on Doctor Oobleck's class since they overlapped.

Her exhaustion from the day before was gone after a good night's rest and a chance to processes the fact that her trip into the forest with Port had _not_ been some kind of wild hallucination. It was still a little scary to realise just how strong the teachers here were, but for her, it just gave her a new reason to grow stronger herself.

The Professor's compliments to her fighting ability now held more weight in her eyes. Where Port had once been a blowhard, retired huntsman who relived his glory days in exceedingly exaggerated tales, he was now a bonafide battlefield badass who deserved her respect.

She'd been wide awake during his lessons for the day, standing off to the side of the room as he recounted the time he'd single handedly saved a small village from a Grimm attack.

The fact that so many students had simply fallen asleep before he got to the good part made her want to grab them by the collar and shake the ever loving hell out of them. They were here to learn, and they were being taught by one of the most skilled huntsman alive.

Heck, even Uncle Qrow struggled with large numbers of Grimm, though he could be excused, given his semblance. Yang was pretty sure Qrow couldn't strangle an Ursa with his bootstrings and walk away without looking out of breath.

Ruby was going to get a stern talking to as well - Yang had caught her doodling during the class. She hadn't called her darling sister out on it, of course, but Ruby was going to start paying far more attention to what Professor Port had to say.

Yang hummed a jaunty tune as she reached her dorm, one quick knock before she walked in, smiling at the sudden mew she heard from the corner of the room. Kicking the door shut behind her, she breezed across the room, kneeling down in front of the kennel to coo at Macska.

"Awe, who's the cute little kitty?" She said, clicking the cage open and letting the white fluff ball free.

A quick sniff revealed the less pleasant side of having a kitten. Yang made a face, "Whew. You are a little stinker, aren't cha." She said, reaching down to tap Macska on the nose and making the kitten sneeze.

Yang laughed before moving over to the stack of supplies Weiss had bought, digging around for the air freshener and turd removal supplies. It wasn't the nicest thing ever, but Yang had to clean up after Zwei every now and then. Even though the corgi was house broke, and well trained, he still left landmines in the house now and then.

Yang was pretty sure those had been intentional.

With that dealt with, Yang knelt down and began petting Macska. The little kitten was looking healthier with a few good meals in it and a warm place to sleep, it showed in her attitude more than anything. If she'd been excitable when Weiss had first brought her home, she was like a fluffy Ruby now.

Yang picked up the laser pointer from the toys and sat down on her bed, taking a video as Macska proceeded to rip around the room at full speed after the red dot.

Left, right, bounce off the bed, zip around the chair by the desk, back to the other side of the room, spin in circles, skid on the lanoluim floor in the bathroom.

The white streak suddenly stopped behind the leg of Blake's bed, peeking out from behind the post as she eyed the dot. White ears pinned flat on her head as her mismatched eyes tracked the laser.

Yang grinned as she flicked the dot back and forth, watching the kitten's head twitch back and forth. She moved it a little closer, Macska hunched lower. A little closer, Macska wiggled her hind end. Closer, Macska lashed forwards, claws digging into the carpet as she hurtled forwards. The dot stayed just a few inches out of reach despite the kitten's best efforts.

The door to the room opened.

Macska hissed and leapt sideways at the sudden interruption to her hunt.

Yang broke out laughing, falling sideways on the bed, holding her sides as she rolled onto the floor.

Blake stood in the doorway with a confused look on her face, not quite sure what had just happened. She opened her mouth to ask if Yang was okay, but realised she wouldn't get an answer as her partner was curled up in a ball, tears running down her face as she tried - and failed - to stop laughing.

The Faunus shook her head and closed the door behind her as she spotted Macska hiding under the bed. Laying her book on the desk she crouched down and clicked her fingers, her lips tugging up in a grin as Macska's ears perked up and she trotted out from under the bed.

Yang finally managed to quiet her laughing, taking a quick look at her scroll to make sure she'd gotten the whole video. Pulling herself up onto the bed once more, an evil grin spread across her face as she pulled up the laser again.

Blake knelt on the floor, running her hand up and down Macska's back, earning loud purrs from the small thing.

Yang turned her scroll back to record and clicked the laser on.

* * *

Jaune woke up bright and early, the ethereal tethers of his dreams releasing their hold and taking the shadowed memories with them. Checking his scroll, he found it was about 6:30 in the morning. "... Why?"

He sat up in his bed and rubbed his face. Why was he up this early? What day was it?

Thursday, his scroll showed. Jaune scowled at it, what kind of joke was this?

He turned over in his sheets, growling to himself and burying his head in the pillow. It was too early to be awake. Blue eyes stared into the white fabric of his pillow case, seeking answers unfound. He re-adjusted himself a little, hoping to fall back into the wonderful embrace of sleep.

Tossing and turning yielded little result as his mind seemed bound and determined that he needed to be awake right now. What did he used to do at this hour? Oh yea, sleep.

Classes didn't start till 9am on Thursday's, so if he was lucky, he could get at least another hour before everyone had to get up. It used to be Weiss getting them up at sword point - him rather than the others.

He rolled over again, the summer sun was just peeking up over the horizon, casting its light directly into Jaune's eyes. _Fine._ He grumbled, cursing both Fate and himself as he crawled out of bed. Picking up his coat, he moved to get changed in the bathroom.

A hour passed before Jaune saw the first true signs of everyone else waking up, that being the first student who didn't look like a zombie, on their way to breakfast. He raised an eyebrow at CRDL making their way to the cafeteria fully armed, they didn't have combat class till later in the day he thought.

Jaune shrugged and headed the opposite way, he'd already eaten a light breakfast earlier. Maybe a little jog would do him some good. Get his nerves, or whatever was irritating him, to calm down. Something tingled in the back of his mind, like a memory he couldn't pin down.

His jog ended in the training halls as he stalked towards the automated rooms. Jaune's fingers tapped against his side as he flashed his teachers scroll at the door and let himself in. Harsh, bright lights flared to life as he moved down to the arena in the center.

Pausing at the holo consol that controlled the room, set just to the left of the stage, Jaune rapidly entered a set of commands before bounding up the steps and drawing Crocea Mors.

The family blade sang as it cleared the scabard, a sound he'd known for so long he'd recognise it like his mother's voice. Light glinted off the blade that had, through his centuries, been ever loyal and true. It had cut through foes for generations, carried by his family before he took it up. Then, by the mechanisms of Fate, the blade had been doused in an ocean of blood by his hand.

A holographic foe - humanoid in shape, faceless and hollow - sprung to life before him, Crocea Mors lashed out, striking through the figure and dissipating it. Two more took its place, each cut down moments after being summoned.

Four. Eight. Sixteen.

The training machine spawned wave after wave of faceless enemies. The goal being to hone one's ability to track and engage increasing numbers of targets while remaining untouched. Of increasing one's spacial awareness. There was no real penalty for being struck by one of the projections, just a lost point on a scoreboard.

The itch in the back of his mind drove him faster. Jaune's teeth grit together as he flowed through the motions, shifting his form and style as he wove through the ever increasing levels. It wasn't satisfying.

Something still bugged him. He was done. It was over and everyone was safe. No more Cinder, no more Roman, no more plots. It had to be habit, his mind simply trying to rationalize a threat that wasn't there any more. Hundreds of years undone in mear months.

 _Peace._ His mind soothed, _safety._ His body moved like clockwork, skewering an enemy from behind while another shattered against his shield. _ **Are you happy?**_

Amber eyes blazed behind one of the holograms. Crocea Mors flashed forwards, shattering the projection. His heart beat faster as his hands gripped the blade. It was just a memory. _I am happy. Everyone is… Safe. I can stop now._

Something metallic clicked behind him. Jaune turned, silver steel flashing through air, intangible light dissipating before him. His breath came faster. Harder. A creeping doubt wormed its way through his mind. _**No one to fight? No one to save?**_

Crocea Mors flashed again as a lock of green hair vanished behind another hologram. Sparks flew as Jaune over extended, the blade etching a trail on the training room floor. It was just a memory, he had those. A lot of them.

 _ **What worth is a huntsman with nothing to hunt?**_ That voice.

Jaune spun around. Blood splashed across the floor. The cocky smile lost its luster when all Jaune could stare at was the ripped out throat of Roman Torchwick. _**You've claimed your prey. Now you've got nothing left. Congratulations.**_

"They're safe _!"_ He shouted. Bodies flew at him, more and more. Neo shattered onto the floor. Mercury fell, his precious legs shreered through by the blade Jaune held. Emerald's head splattered against his shield. Cinder stared back, a haunting smirk as her flame descended on him. "I saved them!" Familiar heat choked his breath away, before she exploded into flames.

 _ **Are you happy?**_

He could breathe again, his heart rate finally dropped as he stared at the empty room. _Is Fate playing with me again? No. I am happy. I saved them._

* * *

The dorm room of Team RRNN was as lively as it always was at 8 am. Not very.

Nora - the perkiest of the team and in possession of at least 40% of the teams total energy - was even slow to rise when there was only classes to look forward to for the whole day. Pyrrha was a mess of red-headed bed-head, the downside to having long hair, and was currently leaning with her forehead against the bathroom door. The Champion's ever polite and courteous nature had yet to cognify the string of threats she was mumbling into the wood.

The lone male of the team settled into his own routine of waiting patiently for his teammates to take their turns in the shower. A quick check of his scroll showed that Jaune was now listed on the Beacon servers as a training resource. Ren's eyebrow quirked upwards at the note attached to the open schedule. He quickly typed the team's name into the 10:00 to 10:45 am slot, making a mental note to tell Ruby about it when she got out of the bathroom.

If only Pyrrha would stop scratching at the door.

Ruby emerged several minutes later, knocking once from the other side of the door to alert Pyrrha that the door was opening. After four consecutive times of having her partner fall face first onto the floor, Ruby had taken up the habit of signaling her exit. The Red Reaper stepped aside and let the girl enter before walking back into the main room.

Ren nodded to her as she moved to collect her books, hood swishing behind her as she moved over to the desk. Ren's eyes narrowed imperceptibly as he watched his team leader. Her shoulders were slumped a little and her normal cheery smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Ren let out a quiet breath, taking a guess at the source of her downer mood.

Ren looked over to see Nora yawn loudly, covering her mouth with one hand as she looked around blearily, not yet awake, and probably wouldn't until her normal breakfast of eight pancakes and half a gallon of syrup. Content that his partner was occupied with trying to wake up, he moved over near Ruby.

"You ok?" He asked, his softer voice catching Ruby by surprise as she finished packing her books into her bag.

"Huh? What?" Was her less than stellar response.

"You look distracted, what's on your mind?"

"U-uh, nothing, really. Just, school things." Ren smiled smiled softly as Ruby stuttered out her excuse, it took a full two seconds of eye contact for Ruby to break.

"Ugh. How do you do that? Every time?" She said, pouting at her teammate. "Fine, I was thinking about Jaune."

Ren raised an eyebrow.

"Not like that." She said, swatting at his arms as her eyes widened and her jaw clenched. "It's just, I'm afraid he's not getting better. He started having nightmares again." Ren almost missed the last muttered bit, but caught on quick enough.

"Did Yang tell you?" He asked, his interest piqued.

Ruby cast her gaze to the floor, nodding a little, "Yea, it wasn't bad at first, and he doesn't have them every night, but Yang said their getting worse."

Ren took a breath, now knowing exactly what had her down. "That's why you were so adamant to go to the arcade last weekend, and planned a movie this one." He said, earning a nod.

"I just want him to get better, to be happy." She said, her voice quieting. "He deserves to be happy."

Ren reached out and patted her shoulder, "You're a good person, Ruby. I can't say I've ever met someone as kind as you, or as determined." He smiled gently, "I got something that might cheer you up."

It was Ruby's turn to raise an eyebrow.

Run pulled out his scroll and showed her the time schedule he had up.

It took a full five seconds for her to figure out what he meant, then her eyes widened. "You got us a training slot with Jaune? That's awesome!"

Ren smiled again, "That's not even the best part, check the time slot."

Ruby's eyes darted back to the scroll, "Isn't that… That's during Port's class!"

* * *

Jaune sat by the stage as team RRNN entered the training room. His jacket lay next to him along with his sword. A grin sliding across his face as Ruby waved happily at him. Standing up as they approached, he gave them a once over. They were all armed and in combat gear.

"Using me as an excuse to get out of Port's class, huh?" He asked, watching as Ruby froze in place and Nora walked directly into her, spilling both onto the ground. Pyrrha laughed behind her hand as she helped both of them up as Ren gave a small smile to him.

"U-uh, no? This was just the first class we could get." Ruby said in an attempt to find a good excuse.

Jaune raised an eyebrow, "There were three other slots available before this, only one of which was filled."

"Oh. Uhh, Ren did it." Ruby quickly threw the pink hair man under the bus.

Jaune glanced at Ren, earning a shrug in return, "I know an opportunity when I see one."

"And Ren gets bonus points for creative thinking." Jaune said, enjoying the annoyed glare Ruby was sending him. It really was cute. "Anyways, I take it you guys wanted some advanced training?" A round of nods, "Alright, everyone in the ring, I want a few minutes of warm ups."

Ten minutes later, Jaune stepped into the ring as the team wound down their pre workout. "So, what are we looking for in training." He asked, looking between the four. In all honesty, he already knew where each of them could improve. They'd be stronger after he was done with them.

"We were thinking basic team tactics." Ruby piped up, holding her hands out a little, "We already fight really well together, but I thought you might be able to teach us more."

Huh, just like CRDL, wanting to be better as a team. Not the worst wish ever, but as always, teamwork meant little if the individual was weak. Jaune ran through his head a quick list of what each of them used to do after the Fall, what each had pushed themselves to be better at. After a moment's thought, he had a plan. With a grin just on the wrong side of cheery, he looked them over again.

"Alright, not the first time I've heard that," He began, "Not gonna be the last either. I'll say the same to you that I did to them, get better yourself and you'll get better together."

Ruby glanced to her team, getting nods and grins in turn. "Ok, so what's first?" She asked, looking back to Jaune.

Jaune was about three inches from her, using his height to leer over her.

Ruby yelped and covered her head as Jaune rubbed his knuckles against her scalp, pulling her into a noogie. "JuuaaaNNEEE!" She protested loudly as she tried to activate her semblance - failing - and began kicking him furiously.

Jaune's grip held strong, his aura tanking Ruby's strikes as he maintained his hold. "One thing you could all work on is spatial awareness. Knowing where everyone is, as much as possible is a vital skill." _Ain't it a funny thing, teaching them the very things they once taught me._ He thought. "Aura control would be next. Ren, you are already have a pretty good hold on yours, I'd expect you to be helping your teammates focus and control thiers."

Ren looked a little surprised but nodded, sparing a brief glance at his leader, still stuck under Jaune's arm.

"Endurance would be next on the list," He continued, "Nora, I'm willing to bet you have some crazy workout you stick with. Start involving everyone else." The Bomber's staple grin took on a vicious edge. Ren winced.

Finally, Jaune turned to Pyrrha, who looked like she wanted to ask a question, given that her hand was slightly raised. "Pyrrha, you were taught by some of the best instructors on Remnant. Don't be afraid of pointing out something wrong if you see it. You help no one if you don't speak up."

"U-uhh, Jaune?" Pyrrha coughed into her hand before pointing to his arm. "Is Ruby okay?"

Jaune glanced down, noting that Ruby had gone half limp under his arm. Jaune released his grip and let the girl slump to the floor, watching with a raised eyebrow as the Red Reaper made an overly dramatic scene of drawing breath.

Jaune rolled his eyes and took a step back from the four as Ruby rose to her feet, shaking a little. After a moment of fresh air, she raised her head to glare balefully at him. "Actually, we were hoping for…" She paused, bend over and resting her hands on her knees, "We were hoping for something a little more interactive." She finally managed.

"You want to fight me then?" Jaune asked, looking between them.

"Yup." Nora said cheerfully, "I mean, we've done exercises together, but Pyrrha is really the only one who's gotten to fight you properly.

"I think she's the only one to _ever_ fight him properly." Ren added.

Jaune let out a breath, a small smile tugging at his lips. _It might be fun,_ he thought, _sparing with them again._ He let the thought slip away as he mulled over various ways to drive his earlier points home. After all, he had time now.

* * *

Cardin winced as the rock he was hiding behind began chipping apart under a hail of gunfire. Sky and Russel crouched next to him, shooting worried glances at the rock currently keeping them away from the handbag/gatling gun that was pinning them down.

"Damnit! Any sign of Dove?" Cardin barked, ducking lower as the rock faltered. This was _not_ going well.

"Haven't seen him since they ambushed, man." Russel seethed, irritation clear in his voice.

Cardin cursed under his breath, one down already and not even a full minute into the fight that had started as a small fetch quest for Dr. Oobleck's class. Cardin glanced down, nodding at the fact that Russel still had hold of the bag that held their tracker. Taking a deep breath and clearing his mind, he tried to come up with some way to get them out of the hole they'd found themselves in.

"Ok, so all we needed is a sample of some wild Elderberries and get back to the group. Miss Goodwitch said we can't disrupt any classes, so we'll be safe there." Cardin said, trying desperately to ignore his rapidly diminishing cover.

Sky held up a small branch with a dozen or so berries on it, "I'm pretty sure this is it," He said, "All we need to do is find Dove and we can head back."

Cadin nodded, "Alright, get ready to bolt." They really didn't have the time for anything else at the moment as the rock behind them finally cracked and gave way.

Coco Adel's gatling gun wound down as the dust began to settle in front of the pinned team. "Hello, boys. Enjoying the weather?" She asked, her white teeth flashing in a lopsided grin.

Cardin took a half step to one side, nothing big, but enough to keep the fashionista's attention on him. Holding his giant mace easily in one hand, he mustered up as much cockiness as he could and threw a challenging grin back, "Of course, just figured I'd take a little nap behind that rock before heading back to class."

"Well, good thing I woke you up then," Coco said, "You might of overslept."

Cardin took another step, disguising it as rubbing one leg with the other. "I guess so. Anything I can do to pay you back?"

Coco's grin widened, "I thought you'd never ask. Hand over the bag."

Cardin glanced between team CFVY. Fox leaned against a tree, arms crossed and looking bored. Velvet stood a little behind her teammate with a single point backpack slung over her shoulder. Cardin's biggest worry, and he meant that literally, was Yatsu. The gentle giant was standing to Coco's left, his oversized steak knife held lazily in one hand.

Cardin felt a bead of sweat run down his brow. Welp, he'd already committed to this.

"How about something else." He said, taking a step forward and ignoring the way the barrels of Coco's gun flicked towards him, "We could both leave and pick this up another time."

The bretett wearing huntress frowned, "Not good enough, big boy. We want the tracker, and we're gonna get it."

Cardin opened his mouth to respond when something landed in the space between the teams. Coco shouted and leapt back, as did her team, while Cardin did the same and his team scattered the opposite direction.

Something went **BANG** , leaving everyone's ears ringing and after images burned into their eyes. Someone grabbed Cardin by the arm and pulled him aside as the muted sound of gunfire filled the air again. "Where did that come from?" Cardin yelled, taking cover behind yet another rock.

"I didn't see, I think the left." Sky said, having been the one to pull Cardin aside.

"Screw it. We're out then. Who over it was, they saved our asses."

Three quarters of CRDL headed for cover as CFVY was engaged by someone else. Cardin pulled out his scroll after they were a few dozen yards away and pulled up his team tracker, showing that Dove's aura was still in the green, though barely, and not to far from their current location. With a quick plan in place, Cardin led them around where the fighting was taking place in search of their lost friend.

* * *

Coco growled as her gatling gun leveled a large tree, her ears ringing and spots dancing in her eyes. Someone was gonna pay for that one. Two figures revealed themselves before her, weapons held at the ready. Her eyes narrowed as she glanced behind her, where two more stood at the ready.

"Looks like the ambusher has become the ambushee." The man behind her said with a small chuckle, his red hair catching the light as he held a large sword in one hand. The sun also illuminated his pink painted face.

"If we hurry, we can get the other's bag too." A shorter girl with blonde hair and a pair of axes chimed in from the other side.

The other two - Coco wasn't sure which was which - laughed along, leveling their guns at the now surrounded team. "Coco…" Velvet whispered from next to her, "It's RETH, fourth year." Coco grunted in reply.

Yatsu took a few steps back to shield their side with his body, pulling his sword up in a defensive position while Fox moved a little to the right to give Coco more room to fire. Velvet, still holding their bag, moved to the center of their team, looking for an opportunity to bolt. While it wasn't the most _honest_ of strategies, this class had made it pretty clear that honesty and fair play wasn't a huge factor. If Velvet could get out of the area, she could lead the attackers on a wild goose chase and split their attention, allowing the others to finish the job.

"You boys, and girl, just interrupted my fun," Coco said loudly, chocolate colored eyes flashing over the rims of her glasses, "So I hope you're ready to pay with your own tracker."

The other team, glanced between each other before breaking out laughing. Coco's frown deepened as they laughed, "Yats. You take the two on your side, Fox and I will take these two. Vel, hang outside Yats, help if you can but be ready to follow the plan if you need to."

A round of grunts sounded before Coco slammed down on the trigger, causing the frankly ridiculous weapon to power up. The whirring sound coming half a second before bullets ripped towards the girl and one of the guys. Fox slipped forward, using Coco's fire to close the distance as his arm blades glinted.

Coco stopped firing the moment Fox engaged the girl. Bracing one foot, she charged forward while transforming her weapon back into bag form. The guy she was charging towards grinned, having ducked behind a tree to avoid her bullets, he tore around the trunk and and fired a short burst from his SMG, forcing Coco to bring her bag up to deflect the rounds. Several made it through, ripping her jeans but bouncing off her aura.

Fire burned in her eyes at the thought of having to replace yet another pair of pants, but her attention was quickly drawn back to her opponent. The guy was almost as large as Yatsu, though not quite as broad, with a light chest rig that allowed freedom of movement and basic protection. As he raced to meet her, he fired another quick burst while drawing another weapon with his left hand.

Coco cursed as he fired an oversized pistol in her direction, ducking under the round instead of trying to block it. Aura flooded into her fist as she kicked off the ground, arm coming back to deliver a wicked strike with her handbag. Her opponent ducked back at the last second, twisting to the side and letting her swing miss by mere inches.

With both hands occupied, he didn't have the option of grappling or disarming her, so instead opened up at point blank with both weapons. Coco cried out as the rounds struck, tearing a good part of her aura away in the process. Those weren't mecha shift weapons, she realised, they were single form firearms. Basic to some people, but valued for their ease of maintenance and low production costs.

Another advantage to the guns were that - seeing as how they didn't have a bunch of extra pieces - they were heavier duty. Therefore, you could fire far more powerful ammunitions. Whatever rounds they were loaded with hurt. Badly.

Coco pulled the trigger on her bag, setting off a burst of the kinetic Dust that gave the thing it's frankly ridiculous hitting power. Using the momentum to flip away while knocking her opponent off balance, Coco switched back to gun mode and opened fire once more. This was _not_ how today was supposed to go. She could already feel a little blood running down her side, nothing life threatening, but enough to completely ruin her outfit.

With a roar, she traced a line through the air after her target, chipping trees and stripping foliage with every round. She was running low on ammo, she reminded herself, they needed a quick way to win, or a way out. Fast.

* * *

Ruby's eyes widened as Jaune was already inside her guard. She turned Crescent Rose's shaft vertically and leapt, using her baby to take the brunt of Jaune's strike while giving her momentum to gain ground. Jaune was on her immediately, lashing out at her left with a fist. When was Jaune this fast?

She panicked as Jaune kept easy pace with her, staying just too close to properly use her massive sythe. It was like he knew her every move and was poking every conceivable hole he could in her routine.

"If your opponent is controlling the flow of the fight, you're losing the fight." Jaune said, his voice rising to match the tempo of the spar. "Break up their control, get the fight back onto your terms."

Ruby would have responded, had she had a moment to think about it. She'd known within the first thirty seconds of the spar that Jaune, had he wanted to, could've ended the fight in the first five.

She growled and ducked under his next swing, bringing scythe before her, blade angled off to Jaune's side and pulled the trigger.

Crescent Rose barked.

Jaune jumped.

Ruby gaped in shock as Jaune leapt _over_ Crescent Rose, in a move that left them at eye level for a brief moment. There was a gleam in his eye as he landed while Ruby was forced to transition into another spin to bleed off her momentum.

Jaune was inside her guard yet again by the time she'd completed her spin. He reached out and flicked her nose, grinning as he slipped back before she could catch him in a back swing. Ruby found that annoying to say the least. Jaune was just… able to predict exactly what she was going to do. Every. Single. Time.

A frustrated growl burst from the small girl as she whipped her weapon to behind her and triggered her semblance. While having proved useless so far, she pushed herself to the limits. She moved _around_ Jaune, her mind willing her semblance to shift her behind him.

Crescent Rose roared.

Jaune stumbled forward as the round hit him solidly, his leg buckling from the sudden force and knocking him to the floor. Ruby halted her reverse movement with a flip and skidded to a stop, panting hard for breath with her weapon still pointed at Jaune. She waited for him to attack again, like he had the last four or five times. Instead, Jaune let out a laugh, an honest to goodness laugh as he stood up.

There was a light in his eyes as he flashed a smile before laughing some more. "Whoa, bout time." He said through his laughter, "Good shot. Got me completely out of it." He said, sheathing his sword in a movement that was clean and practiced. Ruby narrowed her eyes, still holding her stance. He was laughing, honestly laughing.

Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but the shrill ringtone of a scroll cut her off. Jaune almost jumped, but quickly fished his scroll out of his pocket and answered, "Yea… Huh?... Ok, yea give me two minutes to finish up here."

Hanging up and putting the scroll away, Jaune turned back to her, still smiling. "Good job, you just had to think outside the box there. You not only disrupted me, but got a good hit in and bought yourself plenty of room. Good job, Rubes." He said as he moved past, quickly rubbing her hair as he passed. "Class is over, I got to meet with Glynda."

With that, Jaune left her standing there dumb struck, aiming at air as he headed up the stairs and out of the room.

Ruby looked down at her weapon before she collapsed it and placed it in its holster on her back. "What just happened?" She asked, glancing at her team.

Nora leapt up on stage and wrapped her in a hug, "You just impressed the teacher, that's what, silly." She said, shaking Ruby back and forth before setting her down.

"I mean.. Wait what are… never mind. Did anyone else see that?" Ruby asked, glancing back towards the exit. "He was laughing."

"Well duh, he was having fun." Nora responded, throwing an arm around the red clad girl and dragging her off stage with Ren and Pyrrha following behind, "Hey, if we hurry, we can be first in line for lunch!"

Ruby smiled at her team as they headed out, throwing a backwards glance at the display above the ring before the machines shut down. Her aura was solidly in the yellow, given that Jaune had only struck half a dozen times. He'd taken far more hits after sparing back to back with all four of them. Plus at least two of her high impact sniper rounds. Ruby's smile fell.

* * *

Coco dashed forward, landing a vicious axe kick to the back of her opponent. Travis grunted in pain as he collapsed from the force. Coco growled and spun to look around at the rest of the fight, Fox was down and Yats was currently holding off both the pink painted guy and the girl with dual axes.

Velvet was flash stepping just out of range of their last opponent, leaning back to avoid the large knife the other twin sported as a secondary. The fight was dragging both teams down in its length. It was clear RETH hadn't expected them to hold out for so long, and to be honest, Coco hadn't expected RETH to last so long against her team.

Warnings of underestimating your opponent flashed through the girls mind as she charged towards Yats.

The blonde haired girl split off immediately, leaving her sword wielding partner with a quick nod. Coco twisted into a spin, building centrifugal force before slamming her handbag into the ground. Dirt and grass and dibri exploded forward towards Harper, forcing her to cover her face and thus losing her vision for a split second. Coco took advantage, ducking low and slamming her bag into the girls leg, leaving herself over extended but nearly shattering Harper's leg.

Harper cried out, bringing her dual axes down towards Coco's arm as she fell. She didn't have enough momentum to do any major damage, but managed to take another chunk out of Coco's already dwindling aura.

Coco scrambled to stand up, wanting nothing more than to crawl back to her room and take a six hour bubble bath.

Harper dodged back, heavily favoring her left leg as she raised her axes. The slight shift in the weapon's outline and the click of mechshift had Coco cursing as a bolt of electric dust glanced off her shoulder. Muscles spasmed from the shock, even if it wasn't a direct hit. Harper leveled her other crossbow, aiming center mass when a catchy tune broke out over the sound of fighting.

Limping back, Harper fired another shot at Coco to prevent her from following. Sliding one axe bow back onto her hip, she drew out her scroll. "Yo bro, kinda in the middle of something." She shouted, firing again at the approaching brunette.

Coco weaved past the bolt, wincing as she stumbled slightly. Now was her chance to knock the girl out and get the odds back in her team's favor. Yatsu was still holding out and against the fox faunus, and beginning to gain an edge in his fight. Velvet was still holding her own, but was looking worse for wear as the knife Eric wielded showed it concealed some kind of firearm in it.

She charged forward as another bolt clipped her heel, pain surging through her leg as she closed the gap. Rearing back, she prepared to send the little snot into next week.

"STOP!"

Coco checked her attack, shocked and a little confused. Harper threw her weapon down, face ashen as she clutched the scroll to ear. "You can't call stop in the middle of a fight!" She roared, swinging the bag again.

Harper didn't hear her, didn't see her either apparently. Coco hesitated again, Harper was frantically waving her arm at Jason, who immediately leapt away from Yatsu and rushed towards them.

"Bro, slow down. Where are… Who's attacking? Where are you, I'll come help. No. You listen! who is it?" The panic in her voice caught everyone's attention.

Coco let her handbag fall limp at her side, confusion and exhaustion overriding her common sense. Jason skidded to a halt before her, black bag secured to his back. He took a stance between Coco and Harper, weapon drawn in a defensive manner.

"Coco!" Velvet yelled, drawing her leaders attention to the fact that Eric was also rushing over. Harper was still taking, or yelling, into her scroll, half pleading, half demanding answers from whoever was on the other end.

Coco stumbled back, giving a wide berth as the young man rushed in to stand behind his teammate, forming a protective circle around the now panicked girl.

"Bro! Listen to me. Where are you… 12th and Caroline. We're coming. Just hold out." Harper took the scroll away from her ear. Now, with no more fighting, the sounds of gunfire and screaming could be heard on the other end of the line.

Coco paled.

"We're leaving. NOW!" Harper almost screamed as she grabbed Jason's arm, dragging the man forward with sudden lurch. "Eric! Get Travis up and meet us at 12th and Broadline. Use a booster if you have to."

"Hey!" Coco called out as the team ran past, Eric to help his brother and the other two headed in the direction of the city, "What the hell is going on?"

Harper didn't look back as she and Jason broke the treeline and disappeared from view. Coco's eyes snapped to the last one, who was delivering a bitchslap to his brother in order to snap him back from the dreamland she'd sent him to. The man groaned and cradled his stomach, rolling over to his other side.

"Get up. Harper needs us up and running." Eric said, grabbing his brother by the arm and hoisting him to his feet.

"Why?" travis moaned, eyes groggy as he limped a little. Arua pulsed briefly and he stood a little straighter as he forced his aura around his body to ease the pain.

"Connor is in trouble." Eric said as he grabbed Travis's SMG from the ground and shoved it into his hands. "We're using a booster." He mumbled as they started to move.

Travis snapped to attention, gritting past the pain. His brown eyes narrowed as his stride gained strength. The two disappeared into the woods as Coco stared dumbfounded at their retreating backs, opening her mouth to try and make sense out of what had just happened before giving up. Velvet stood off to the side for a moment before glancing around and rushing over to help Fox to his feet as Coco and Yatsu followed a moment later.

* * *

"Huh. That was interesting." Jaune said as he set the tablet down on the desk. He reached over and picked up the cup of coffee he had set there a minute earlier. It was still warm.

"Is that all you have to say, Mr. Arc?" Glynda asked, crossing her arms under her breasts as she sat back in her chair. While it wasn't the first time he'd been in her office, he still had to grin a little. Miss Goodwitch kept her office in the same order she tried to impose on the school; everything was neat and organised. Books where where they were supposed to be and papers where stacked neatly on one side of her desk. A kettle and a selection of teas were the only items that stood out in the otherwise spartan decor. A long set of pictures lined on wall, the names of all the students who had graduated under her tutelage.

"What else do you want me to say? They all fought well, but didn't claim their target." He said, shrugging as he sipped his coffee. "Or are you waiting for me to say something about how one team ran off in the middle of the fight."

The last part was more statement then question, he already knew what she wanted him to say. He wasn't so blind he couldn't see she was making him get more involved in the other students. Wasn't that subtle when she essentially made him a private trainer.

Glynda leveled a glare at him, "Those are now your students, as well as mine. Something is obviously wrong."

Jaune glanced at the paused video that floated at the edge of the desk, "Maybe. Something's always wrong, isn't it? Might be something serious, or it could just be a diversion to get them out of a fight they couldn't win."

The glare dimmed as her voice softened, "Mr. Arc. I, due to having to run half the school, am unable to chase my charges down each and every time something _might_ go wrong. No matter how much I may wish otherwise."

Jaune paused in his snappy comeback, something in the back of his mind tingled as she said that.

"Instead of being there to help and protect my students, I am forced to come across them after something horrible has already befallen them. I am forced wait until I receive a call from the police. I then get to stand on the other side of a piece of yellow tape as my students are carted away, bloodied and broken, from the smoldering remains of whatever hell they were forced to face on their own."

A hard spot formed in Jaune's throat as he refused to make eye contact. Glynda's voice was flat and emotionless.

"Time after time, I write out letters to the parents, informing them that their child - while under my watch - was injured, crippled or _killed_." The slight emphasis placed on the last word made him wince.

Swallowing hard, Jaune realised just how hard it was for her to sit there and do nothing. She truly did care for her students, wanted nothing more than for them to live a long and fulfilling life in a lifestyle that demanded the lives of those who chose it. Worse still was the realisation of just how much _he_ had put her through last year.

The room was very quiet as Jaune set his coffee cup down.

"I'll go keep an eye on them." He said as he turned and walked out of the room, "If something is wrong, I'll call you for backup."

Glynda watched as he crossed the room and closed the door with a click. "Please be safe, Mr. Arc." She said to the empty room.

* * *

 **Sooo… Yea. Haven't given up on this. Not yet. Not for a long time. Let's just say September…. Kinda sucked. I moved two states away, work shifted gears pretty heavily, and I rewrote probably 15k words in this chapter.**

 _ **Well, that was fun.**_

 _ **Yeah, September was kinda a crappy month. I suddenly got a lot more hours at work, then on top of that my family started moving and rebuilding all around me.**_

 **So it's been… Chaotic to say the least. So I do apologize for leaving you guys hanging for so long. If something like this happens again, I'll let you guys know. Sorry. My bad.**

 _ **Retyping this bitch probably took the most time. Some scenes just didn't want to come out right.**_

 **I will apologize again, I don't know how this chapter is going to feel for you guys, hopefully you like it. I get the feeling that it's a little stilted, but maybe that's just me.**

 **Oh, and I'm trying to get a discord room going for NttF/AF. So far, it's called CULT of COEUR, I can add anyone who'd like to join. rn, it's a skin and bones with only me, Jaeger, and one other guy who now has his own title. I really haven't had time to add really anything, but if someone wants, I'd love to see it grow into its own little community.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AAAAGGGHHHHHH WHY IS COLORADO BYPOLAR**

 **Cause fuck you. That's why. My home refuses to decide what season it is. **

**Argh. Welcome to the world I guess. Anyways, got the chapter done within a month, so yay?**

 **Yaaaaaay… I'm going back to bed.**

 **Uhhh…. Alright. Hope you guys enjoy?**

* * *

Chapter 8

Looking beneath

Beta: ErenJaeger17

* * *

Weiss walked passed the courtyard of Beacon on her way to the Headmaster's office, humming a light tune. She couldn't quite remember where she heard it, but it was probably something she'd heard at the school, given that the her father would have never allowed her to listen to anything set to 'tecno'.

The daily lunch rush was in full swing, though through good timing, Weiss had managed to dodge the long lines of hungry hunters in training. She smiled to a few of the students who passed her - something that would have been cause for a mass evacuation last year - and received nods and smiles in return. Another slight, but welcome change.

Teams moved around her on their way to eat, making room for who they recognized as someone important. Some teams joked and laughed with each other as they passed, others discussed lessons and 'the crazy blonde who was glaring at them during Port's class', and some planned upcoming excursions into town.

Weiss's mood dipped slightly, the week was almost over and her team had barely been together. During the day, they were split up with their new duties and at night, they were catching up on studies. It didn't leave a lot of time to just… hang out together. Macska was a nice reprieve in that scenario, as the kitten made itself the center of attention and had for the last few nights, drawn everyone in to playing with it before it passed out on her lap.

But those thoughts were for another time, she decided, they would do something this weekend. Together as a team, even if she had to revert to old methods to do so.

She hadn't tried to stab Jaune with Myrtenaster in a while.

Weiss's path brought her to the elevator to Ozpin's office as the golden doors slid open with a ding. Stepping in, she pressed the button for the correct floor while bringing out her scroll. She flipped thru her messages, pausing at a video sent to the team chat. It was from Yang.

Curiosity had her pressing the play button as the video loaded.

It was their dorm room, Yang was obviously recording as Blake sat cross legged on the floor with Macska playing around her. Blake appeared unaware Yang was filming. Weiss's brows furrowed as Yang tipped the scroll down to show a small, pen like object in her hand. Realization hit a moment later.

The scroll panned back up, Blake still playing with the kitten. Macska suddenly went very still, crouched behind Faunus's knee. There was a red dot on the floor in front of Blake, the both felines were staring at the dot, unmoving. Macska's ears pivoted forwards and back. Blake's ears twitched under her bow.

Macska flashed forward, leaping over Blake in an attempt to capture the red light. Blake's hand swept forward at the same time, coming from the other direction. Yang burst out laughing, the scroll tilted sideways before falling camera first onto the bed and cutting out the video. Not that it cut out the sound, as Yang could still be heard laughing loudly in the background as Blake called her childish and immature.

The video returned, blurring in and out of focus for a moment as Yang apparently tried to hide it from Blake's view. Blake was now sat on her bed, very much facing away from Yang with a book in her lap as Macska played with a string toy next to her.

Weiss giggled as the video ended, quickly saving it to her personal device. She scrolled a little further down, seeing that she was the last of the team to view it. Jaune, Blake, and Yang had all commented.

 _Jaune: Nice_

 _Yang: IKR!_

 _Blake: Yang, delete this or I will kill you!_

 _Jaune: I already saved it._

 _Blake: I'll kill you too._

 _Yang: No need for the cat-titude, Blakey. I just wanted to share your Clawsome reflexes._

 _Jaune: Nice._

 _Blake: Both of you will regret this._

Weiss's giggles escalated to the point she had one hand over her mouth. It wasn't until she noticed there was sunlight reflecting off her scroll screen that she realized the elevator was open and she'd been standing in front of the Headmaster - for who knows how long - staring at her scroll. Giggling, no less. She flushed bright red as she looked up to see Ozpin, sitting behind his deck, sipping from his coffee.

Weiss quickly stashed her scroll in her pocket and stepped into the office. "Good afternoon, Headmaster." She said quickly, bowing her head slightly.

"Miss Schnee." He said calmly, raising an eyebrow before refilling his cup. He produced a second cup from below his desk and filled it, sliding it towards her as she walked to the desk. A chair was set a little off to the side of the desk with a seperate screen projected on it. Weiss took the seat and the coffee with a word of thanks as she sat down and opened the menu on the screen, trying to fight down her embarrassed flush. She hadn't missed the old man's small smile as he turned back to his work.

A quick sip of her coffee brought her back to the task at hand; helping alleviate some of the more minute paperwork that helped keep Beacon running wasn't the most glamorous task, but it was a necessary one. Ozpin had already written out a list for her to work, giving her more low key and repetitive work that would allow him to focus on other things. With a diligence born of minor embarrassment, Weiss started in on the list.

* * *

Jaune sat in the passenger seat of one of Beacon's bullheads as it flew across the city, doing his best to keep his stomach from displaying his breakfast across the control panels. The headphones over his ears chattered as he scanned through the broadcasted frequencies.

The pilot kept glancing over at him, though the man hadn't questioned him after Jaune had identified himself, he could tell the pilot wasn't exactly happy with being ordered around by a teen. Jaune didn't really care that much, so long as the guy did as he asked, they'd both be back at Beacon within an hour or two.

The headset squaked as it found one of the police channels, drawing Jaune's attention away from the view out the side window and back to the present.

" _Squad car #1901 requesting backup to section AG-SES-117. Shots fired."_

" _Copy Squad #1901. Routing nearest units to your location…"_

Jaune tuned the rest out, pulling up a holo map of the city as he cross checked what Roman had once taught him about police protocol and how they coded the city. Vale was big. Really big. The 'City' of Vale constituted everything from the Docks all the way to the upscale houses of Vale's richest. Between those two points lay almost everything in between, and outside the metro areas held everything else. Farmland and agriculture dominated most of the kingdom inside the safe area, and bordering up along the edges of the more populated areas.

It was completely possible to walk through cornfields or pastures for hours without reaching a house, at least out closer to the borders. Land safe from the grimm was precious, people at least knew that, and had made sure that their source of food wasn't going to be heavily threatened.

GAR-23-B lay in the southern part of the city, between the rural side of Vale and the beginnings of the suburban areas. Jaune wasn't overly familiar with the area, but had run supplies with Roman once or twice through the area.

The mic crackled as the pilot cued his mic, "So, uh. You the guy who stole and crashed a bullhead last year?" There was a slight tilt to the man's voice that Jaune couldn't quite place.

Jaune glanced up from the map and looked over at the man, who was focusing on the controls and their route, "Yea. That was me."

"Huh."

Jaune waited for more, but coms stayed quiet and after a moment, he went back to checking the map while scanning for more police reports. A few more reports of minor crimes chattered in his ear as he skimmed them over. Pulling out his scroll, he accessed the trackers he'd given the teams. The last ping had gone out a only ten minutes ago, and placed RATH somewhere to his south.

Jaune frowned. There wasn't much for gang activity in the area, the farmers were usually left alone for the simple fact that interfering with one's food source was a bad idea. That and the fact that many farmers were often ex-huntsman and the likes, tended to keep the riff raff away.

The map showed they were approaching the grainery district of Vale's South East farm lands. The farms primarily used for growing corn, wheat, and other grains, it had massive warehouses and storage facilities to protect and preserve the grains for extended amounts of time. It was a maize down there.

Jaune's hand flicked through a few commands on the consol, earning an annoyed 'hey' from the pilot, and pulled up a 3D of the Bullhead's maps and overlaid in onto his side of the cockpit windscreen. On top of that, he put a thermal overlay that detected heat signatures. It was a knockoff of Atlas's military tech, but still useful when searching for people in the middle of the woods.

Dozens of heat signatures popped up; equipment, people and animals were shown across the viewscreen. Jaune dismissed most of them, civilians were busy making sure the coming harvest would be fruitful. He focused on the ones grouped up a mile or so away, there were at least two dozen grouped in a warehouse with more forming a perimeter. The comms kept chattering.

Jaune flicked off his headset, pulling out his scroll and dialed the number for one of the students. It rang, and rang.

"Hello?" A male voice asked, sounding a little out of breath.

"This is Jaune Arc. Where are you?" He asked, watching as the display showed the bullhead getting closer to what he assumed was two fighting forces.

"Sorry Teach, kinda busy at the moment. Can I call you back? We're about to have a class with… Miss Goodwitch." Jason trailed off lamely.

Jaune rolled his eyes. "Jason, right? RETH Team leader. How about not lying to me and tell me where you are before I light up the wrong people." He held the scroll out just enough for the other teen to hear the roar of the bullhead. Jaune heard muffled voices in the background, it sounded like someone was trying to take the scroll away. After a moment, a girls voice cut in.

"Arc? I can see you. We're hold up across the street from a two story mill. There are people attacking it for some reason. My brother is in there." Jaune guessed it was Harper who spoke, sounding frightened.

"Calm down. Don't go running in and get shot. I don't want to deal with the paperwork." Jaune deadpanned as the bullhead slowed down, he looked at the map again and spotted four heat signatures set across the street from the main cluster. "Are you guys at that little wash station to the south of the the grainery?"

"Y-yes."

That was all Jaune needed. He set his headset down on the controls and glanced over at the pilot, "I'll call when I need a ride." He said before he kicked the door open and bailed from the craft.

* * *

Weiss typed in the next set of entries into her console, double checking the spelling on the forms that listed student names and the course work. It wasn't that fun. An hour in and with a decent amount of progress behind her, she was deeply missing her normal school routine. To be back in class, taking notes, worrying about grades and social standings sounded heavenly right now.

More coffee from the Headmaster's stash helped a little.

Her neck cracked as she massaged the sore muscles and leaned back in her seat. She glanced up to see that Ozpin was studiously alternating between reading and signing forms, and typing away at his keyboard. Weiss picked up her cup of coffee, taking a little pleasure it its warmth and flavor before setting the cup down.

"Is there something you'd like to ask me, Miss Schnee?" Ozpin asked, his eyes just peeking over the edge of his tinted glasses as he kept typing. Not for the first time, Weiss got the distinct impression that the man had to be somewhat psychic. Nothing short of Jaune levels of foreknowledge would allow for what he managed to do.

Weiss hid her hesitation in taking another sip of coffee as she tried to make some sort of order from her latent thoughts. There were so many things she wanted to know. Why were the maidens created? Why was their existence hidden from the world? Did the Headmaster know that Fate was an actual being with power over the physical realm?

The last one had been hanging on her for a while. She hid it to the best of her ability, not that it kept Jaune from noticing, and had spent more than a few hours scouring every resource she could for information on the entity. The results had been less than satisfying. Most articles and papers she'd found revolved around trying to conceptualize whether or not Fate existed.

Finally settling on a question, she coughed into her hand, "Do you believe that we are part of something… greater than ourselves?" She asked, looking down at the cup before her.

Ozpin's eyebrows arched upwards as he paused in his work. Weiss glanced towards him before picking his mug up and taking a long dip of coffee. "That is a rather interesting question, Miss Schnee." He said, sitting back in his chair.

"I suppose many would like to believe that there was an external entity acting as a referee of sorts, taking the matter of choice out of their hands." Ozpin's gaze faded to the distance as he spoke, "I suppose some would like to believe that their actions were simply that of a higher power acting out it's plan. Therefore any wrongdoing is simply them acting out what they were supposed to do."

Weiss thought on his words as she sipped her coffee. That certainly lined up with what many of the articles she'd read seemed to reflect. Many seemed to try and distance themselves from their own actions by projecting onto an unknown or untouchable entity.

"That wasn't quite what I had in mind…" She said, trailing off a little as she tried to come up with the position she was trying to present.

"I suppose that was a rather vague way of putting." Ozpin said. The old man eased back in his chair. "Are you asking if I believe in the existence of Beings beyond our comprehension? Or simply that what we do and how we act may be playing out in a pre-planned narrative?"

Weiss opened her mouth before pausing. Now was a moment she couldn't afford to waste, she _knew_ Fate was real, but could she risk ostracize herself from the one man who might help her understand what was going on in the world. Something that Jaune had said last year tickled into her thoughts, she cast her gaze towards her coffee again as she tried to frame her thoughts.

"If..." Weiss paused, "If last year had gone differently… Would you still have chosen me to be the Fall Maiden?" It wasn't exactly how she wanted to ask the question, but she thought it close enough. Jaune had spoken of how things were changed, her and Pyrrha switching roles being the largest of them. Or even the teams. Team RWBY… It just didn't sound right, no matter how she thought of it. It wasn't _her_ team.

Weiss, caught up in her thoughts as she was, failed to notice the look on the Headmasters face. The old man stared at her for a long moment, his hand stilled on the edge of his desk. "I'm not sure what you're," Ozpin trailed off, "I'm sorry. The answer to your question is… Yes. There are a great many things I would have changed if I'd simply known. Or acted out on instead of simply watching."

It still wasn't the answer she was looking for. Weiss nodded anyways, it was a fair enough answer, everyone would change things in their past if given the chance. She decided to ask another question that had been on her mind for a while.

"I was also wondering if you could explain a little more about the Maiden's and their powers." She asked, finishing off the last of her coffee.

Ozpin seemed a little more relaxed with that question, his smile slipping into place once more. "I'm afraid you'll need to be a little more specific," He said, "The powers of the seasons is a rather, broad subject."

"I've been remembering bits and pieces of Amber's life." Weiss said slowly, "I remember her powers revolved around, I suppose, a more conventional idea of the Fall season; summon winds and lightning. Whereas when I use them, they feel more like Winter; ice storms and colder attacks."

Ozpin nodded and leaned forward, refilling her cup as he looked thoughtful. "It was said, that the Wizard poured all his power into creating the Gifts of the Seasons. It would seem that as he did so, he allowed variations to exist between one Bearer to the next. I believe the simplest way to view it would be as a circle. Spring leads into Summer, Summer to Fall, Fall to Winter and Winter to Spring."

The Headmaster waved one hand in the air in a clock like motion, "I have seen Maidens exhibit powers closer to their neighboring season then the staples of their own. It would make sense that your own experiences and characteristics would shape your power. I believe you will have an easier time controlling elements closer to Winter than you would those of Summer." An amused look crossed his face, "Not unlike a Harbinger of what the next season would bring."

Weiss thought for a moment on his words. It would explain why she had an easier time drawing ice based attacks and why Cinder, while only having half the power, used fire. Each Maiden was unique in their manifestation of the Gifts.

"A Harbinger." Weiss mumbled to herself. It wasn't quite the title she'd have picked. After a moment's thought, she asked, "What happened to the Wizard? I mean, after he gave the Maiden's their gifts. I've looked through various tales and stories, but the Wizard is mentioned… Rarely. If ever."

A curious expression flickered over Ozpin's face before his normal countenance replaced it, "I'm afraid I cannot tell you. Many believe that he faded away with time, others might say that he traveled the world, seeking to experience the joys found in life."

Weiss hummed. Her questions not quite sated, but satisfied for the moment. The time spent talking had been a welcome break from their work, but the pile of papers would not complete themselves. With another sip of coffee, both student and teacher resumed their work.

* * *

Harper's eyes widened as a body hurtled to the ground. She stumbled, falling on her ass and scrambled backwards crying out. Travis leveled his SMG at the new addition to the group. The team scattered, surrounding him. Their backs pressed into the bulky wash bay they were hiding behind.

Four teens stared as Jaune Arc stood up and cracked his neck, looking over the team as they lowered their weapons. Travis knew they looked like shit, his body still aching from their earlier fight and the hurried trip over here. All of their auras were solidly in the yellow, if not a little lower.

"Uh… Ok."Jason said slowly as he blinked at their assistant professor, who was dusting his blue coat off. "Thank you for coming to help?" The pink painted faunus glanced upwards, the direction Jaune had come from, to see a bullhead flying away.

Travis glanced to his brother, then to Harper as she righted herself and looked over the blond teen. Said teen looked between the four again. "Yea, sure. At least I got here before you ran in and got yourselves shot…." He trailed off at the guilty looks on their faces. "Ok. Well at least I got here before you got yourselves killed." He corrected himself as he ran a hand down his face.

"Someone going to tell me what's going on?" Jaune asked, looking to Jason. His face skewed in concentration, but Travis could feel a sense of irritation. Almost apathy.

The pink faced leader blinked before speaking up, "Uh, well we only got here a few minutes ago. Harper's brother called us and said he was being attacked, so we rushed over. Got into a fight with some masked people, then you showed up."

Travis watched his teacher. Arc's eyes narrowed at the mention of masks. _Huh?_ Travis' mind raced. _What's with that look?_

"Where is your brother?" Jaune directed his question towards Harper, who glanced towards the large building where the gunfire was coming from.

"I don't know… He's works in the grainery." She said, voice quivering. "He's got to be alive. We've gotta go now."

"Denied." Jaune countered, voice hard as he pointed at the girl. "You're all low on aura and I don't need the paperwork, so you're staying here."

"That's not fair!" Harper yelled, "He's my brother and I need to help him!"

"I said you're staying here." Jaune repeated. "I can handle a couple of terrorists and the police are here." He nodding to the flashing lights there were rounding the corner.

"He's my brother!" Harper screamed, and when it seemed like she was going to break away from them, Eric placed his hands on her shoulders, keeping her in place. "You don't even know what he looks like! You'll kill him!"

Jaune groaned, running a hand down his face. His brows drew together and his face darkened. He opened his mouth, "Listen he-"

"Let me come with you." Travis spoke up, cutting the man off. "I know what Connor looks like, and I'm in better shape then they are."

Harper stilled, her eyes giving Jaune a silent plea.

Jaune gave him a once over before sighing, "Fine. But you're staying behind me." He pointed to the twin before turning to the others, "You three are going to go over to the cops and tell them what you know." He said, pointing to a riot van parked to the rear of what was fast becoming a police blockade around the building. "And you'll stay there until I come collect you."

Harper's face was twisted in displeasure, but nodded. "You're supposed to be some prodigy huntsman. They made you a teacher as a second year. Please save my brother."

The look that crossed the younger teens face was… complicated as he grunted something under his breath and walked towards the officers in the street. Travis tried to push it to the back of his mind, "We'll get him back, safe and sound, Harps. I promise." He said, laying a comforting hand on his teammates shoulder. With a quick nod to his leader and a fistbump from his brother, the twin turned to follow their teacher.

Travis caught up to Jaune as he was speaking with one of the officers on the outskirts of the blockade, catching the tail end of the conversation.

" -ID checks out, Huntsman," A tired and grizzled officer said, handing Jaune a card. "We've gotten reports of small arms fire, aura users and a possible semblance. I appreciate Beacon sending help."

Jaune pocketed the card in his coat, nodding to the officer before turning to face Travis. "You fought against people before?" The younger man asked, catching him off guard. Of course he'd fought people. It was one of the main lessons in Beacon.

"Have you ever fought people trying to kill you." Jaune clarified, noticing the hesitation. The way he said it caused Travis's response to die on his lips. White masks and screams whispered in the back of his mind.

"Yea." Was all he managed for a response.

Jaune nodded, glancing back to the grainery and the sounds of fighting that echoed every few seconds. Travis breathed in, steeling himself. Jaune walked without pause, or any indication the sounds bothered. For some reason, that bothered Travis a lot more than the sounds themselves. Everyone in Beacon knew about Jaune Arc, if not from seeing him directly, then they'd at least heard of him. Lazy, rude, crazy, womanizer, unconventional, insane, crazy again. Those were the usual responses when someone was asked if they'd heard of him.

"It's probably rouge White Fang in there. The last of the fanatics. They'll kill you if you let them. Keep your guard up or I'll send you back to your team."

All those descriptions and more fit Jaune Arc, Travis decided as he watched Jaune's eyes _shift_. They didn't change color, they didn't morph into voids like some cheap movie creature. They simply, stopped. Like a perfect photo of a human eye. Something stirred deep inside Travis gut as he watched Jaune draw his weapon and he realized there was one more word that described Jaune Arc far better than any other.

Monster.

* * *

Yang caught Ruby just before Port's class started, having waited in the hallway outside for her sister's team to arrive. Almost late again too. It might have been a common thing last year, both with Ruby's team and her own, but anymore, it seemed a little rude.

"Hey sis, what's up?" Ruby asked, her chipper voice always bringing a smile to Yang's face. "Still helping Port?"

Yang grinned down at her sister, "Yup. It's been a blast so far," Yang missed the semi-horrified expression that crossed Ruby's face, "That's kinda why I wanted to catch you real quick. Port showed me his lesson plan for the day and I really want you to pay attention. He's going over some of the S rank Grimm incursions in recent history."

Ruby perked up at that, though her attitude dimmed quickly upon remembering that it was Port who was going to be teaching them about it.

"Oohh, isn't that S rank when you need, like whole armies to take them out?" Nora asked, hopping in place beside a mildly interested Ren and Pyrrha.

"Yes Nora," Ren answered for her, "They're very rare events, but important to learn."

"Yup! The last one was at Mountain Glenn," Yang said, glad that at least someone on the was paying attention. "Make sure you're taking notes and not doodling." She directed the last part to Ruby.

Yang glanced back into the classroom, "Welp, time to get started." She said, spinning on one foot and disappearing back into the classroom, leaving RRNN standing there with confused and - in Ruby's case - disturbed expressions.

Pyrrha patted her leader's shoulder comfortingly, "I'm sure Yang is fine, maybe this class really is an exciting one." Ruby shuttered a little, the excitement in Yang's eyes, not to mention the way she'd glare at student's not paying attention in Port's class was beginning to concern her. She just hoped that Yang hadn't been abducted by aliens or something.

* * *

Gun fire echoed throughout the building as the bright lights inside gave everyone present an excellent view of what was going on. Travis wished the place was more like the movies he and the team watched; dark and shadowy, where there were plenty of places to hide and bodies of those killed weren't illuminated. Somewhere he couldn't see the people dying in front of him.

Travis panted heavily as he crouched behind a large piece of machinery, the occasional bullet pinging near him and making him jump. His Aura was still okay, but he was running low on ammo and his nerves - already nearly spent - had been shot to hell in the last five minutes. Checking the small ammo counter next to the magazine of his gun, he closed his eyes, said a silent prayer and ducked to the left.

This was insane. They'd only entered the building a few minutes ago, but that time felt like forever. Oh, he'd been in extended fights before, their attack and subsequent fight with CFVY earlier in the day had lasted longer, but felt like a walk in the park compared to this. Maybe because in the back of his mind, there had been no real stakes. Just some bruises and lost points. Maybe because in the end, CFVY were still friends and acquaintances, and the spars they fought in only built character and bonds between the students.

Maybe he was a wreck because the screams and death knells he heard reminded him of the Attack. Maybe it drove home the fact that these people weren't going to surrender, grin, and promise to get better. Maybe it was because these _animals_ wanted to kill him, and they were willing to die trying to accomplish that.

Maybe it was the image that was burned into his eyelids from not two minutes ago. The image of Jaune Arc - two years younger then Travis, laughing stock and terror of Beacon - ripping his blade through a masked assailant's body, tearing flesh and shattering bones. The man, a member of the White Fang if the mask was any indication, wasn't even allowed to scream before the life left his eyes.

Maybe it was the lack of hesitation Jaune carried in his movement. He hadn't stopped to consider that he was taking a life, nor to stare in remorse at his fallen foe, not even a glance at the viscera and blood that flowed behind him as he moved from one scene of carnage to the next. Jaune Arc had just killed a man, but for the life of him, Travis couldn't find a single shred of guilt in his eyes.

Maybe it was the stark contrast to Travis' own unwillingness to kill. Those he shot at would live, crippled and behind bars, but he wasn't a killer. Broken bones mended and flesh wounds healed. Travis found himself trembling slightly as another White Fang rounded the corner in front of him. The huntsman in training fired wildly in surprise, keeping his aim low as he tried to incapacitate the terrorist.

Half his shots went wide. Those that did strike, bounced off the man's aura, eliciting a shout of pain and return fire. Travis ducked behind another piece of machinery, sweat slick on his brow as he reloaded. He could hear more screams and gunfire erupt from across the floor as Jaune no doubt cut through his enemies.

 _This is insane,_ he thought, _I just want to get Connor and get out of here._

Travis poked his head out just enough to see Jaune fly out of nowhere, Travis turned away as the scream behind him stopped.

* * *

Yang sat at attention in the front row of Port's class, a page of notes and diagrams littering the paper. Weiss would probably have fainted had she seen it. Port's lectures, Yang had come to realize, were honestly chock full of tips, strategies and concepts of fighting that had flown far over the student's heads last year. One simply had to learn how to listen through the stories to find it.

Port was currently talking about the Battle of Mt. Glenn, his eyebrows and moustache moving animatedly as he told about the three day siege that would put the Attack on Beacon to shame. Hundreds of huntsmen standing the ground, using everything Vale and Atlas had on hand - from gunships and the very first models of the Paladin to cannons - to hold back the horde.

Port had been assigned to direct mortar fire from one of the sectors, standing on the front lines of the walls, weapon in one hand as he rained death from above on the Grimm. His story may have been passed of as hyperbole, but as Yang wrote it down, Port conveyed details about how different parts of the siege interacted with each other. Things such as chain of command, proper radio communication and a dozen other things she'd have missed had she heard this verbatim last year.

Yang slumped back a little, as she thought of Mt. Glenn. She'd seen the town with her own eyes. The empty streets and abandoned homes of those killed stuck in the back of her mind. She found it a little strange that the Professor was giving such detail on it, given that she'd never even heard of the place till her and the girls went to Junior's last year. Now they were getting a first hand account of it, from someone who fought in the battle?

Perhaps it was part of the fall out from the Attack on Beacon? The fact that everyone knew they _weren't_ indefinitely safe in the city. The Grimm were not something that only some people had to worry about. The Grimm were a threat to each and every human and faunus on Remnant. Maybe Port realized that and felt the chances of being reprimanded for telling about the fall of Mt. Glenn worth the risk, if his student's had a chance to learn something from it.

Yang tuned back in as Port dialed back on the volume, his voice becoming more serious. "We held the walls for three days, it looked like we were finally pushing them back. People, for some reason known not to me, began settling back down, believing we'd won." The large man said slowly, taking a step back to rest against his desk, "Then, at midnight on fourth night, it came. We never got a good look at it, but it was large. Larger then a goliath, and twice as mean. We began trying to evacuate the civilians, but the tunnels were breached and Vale was forced to seal the exits."

The classroom fell silent, those who had fallen asleep were awoken by their teammates or simply by how solom Port had become. A few people shuffled, unsure what to do. Yang figured it their silence was a mixture of respect to the fallen, and their own experience with a similar situation that had dampened the mood.

"I still remember it as if it were yesterday," Port spoke once more, his usual exuberance absent in his voice as his facial hair seemed to droop, "The Beast targeted the walls, smashing through them like they were straw. Our artillery was useless against it, and it simply moved through like nothing in the world bothered it. I ordered those under my command to fall back, protecting the civilians best we could as we waited for the airships to evacuate us. It was a long three hours."

A nervous hand was raised, somewhere in the back of the room as Port paused in his story. "U-u-um. How did you make it out?" A boy asked, and the tension in the air told that it was the question on everyone's mind.

Port let out a small laugh, "I honestly do not remember, my boy. I was fighting the front lines, battling against a score of Ursa when I was struck in the back by a King Taijitu and knocked unconscious. I awoke a week later in Vale, Mt. Glenn had fallen and memorials were under way for the dead."

A depressed air permeated the room, student's looked downcast and disheartened. Even Yang's mood bottomed out and she could see Pyrrha rubbing a hand on a crestfallen Ruby's back. She gave the Champion a small smile of thanks for looking after her sister. Ruby hated the thought of anyone being left behind.

Port clapped his hands together, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "I do believe that is enough for the day, I did not mean to bring such a dower mood to class, but there is no undoing the past. Therefore, I want all of you to begin prepping for next week's practical examinations."

His words sent the classroom mood from 'that's really depressing' to 'I'm sorry, practical what'd-he-say?' in an instant as everyone began frantically searching their limited notes for anything mentioning an exam.

"You'll find the details you are looking for on your scrolls, the teacher announced, his jovial tone returning as multiple students slumped in relief. Yang grinned a little at that, her spirits lifting a little everyone began packing up their bags as the bell rang and class was dismissed. Port really was a clever man when you looked at the results of his actions.

* * *

Jaune deflected a burst of gunfire with his shield as he cut down another white mask, his sword lodging in his opponent and swiftly forgotten as he drew his hand gun fired into another's face. The smaller rounds rapidly breaking their aura before shattering the mask and whatever was behind it.

Of the dozen or so that had been present at the start of the fight, only two or three were left. _White Fang_ , he thought as the remaining Faunus tried to pin him down with gun fire. A flare of aura prevented any actual damage as he continued to fire.

The pistol clicked empty and fell to the ground as Jaune charged the next closest. While they still rank amatures to him, he begrudgingly gave them credit for figuring out he was their biggest threat inside of ten seconds. He rammed one with his shield, breaking their guard with a grunt before wrenching their gun away and turning it on them.

Blood painted the ground again.

His shield came back up as another burst of fire raked at his aura. Whatever they were using for ammo must have been cheap. Turning to face another, he drew his arm back, using a move he'd unabashedly stolen from Pyrrha, threw his shield into one of the final terrorists, knocking the wind out of them as the reinforced plate struck their stomach.

He leapt forward, fist burying into soft flesh. The paltry attempt at a counter jab bounced off his breastplate. Jaune's first right hook broke their nose, the second broke their jaw. Wrapping a hand into their clothing,he spun around with a grunt, using their body as a makeshift shield to absorb another burst of fire. The body jerked violently in his grip before going still. Another one down, one left.

He dropped the corpse and advanced on his final target, a feral grin working its way across his face. It was pure catharsis. A chance to put down more of the scum that had taken his loved ones from him.

The woman dropped her empty rifle and pulled a knife out. Jaune took a step towards her, she took a step back. In a flash, Jaune was on top of her, kicking her feet out from under her while grabbing her knife hand. He wrenched the arm, earning a shriek of pain from her. The sound of snapping bones echoed.

A quick twist and the blade was in his hand. A move Ren had once taught him, so many years ago.

He bodily picked her up slammed her into a nearby steel container and stabbed the knife through her other arm, pinning her to a bin. The woman's screaming went unnoticed as Jaune took the chance to catch his breath and try and process the last few minutes.

 _White Fang attacking a grainery. Why? A last ditch effort by a few extremist trying to make one last strike at Vale? Hurt its food supply and therefore hurt those they blamed for their lot in life?_ Jaune snorted, that path of thinking was cancerous. There were points in history when blame could be laid on individuals, and times when the people trying to serve 'justice' were simply harming the innocent.

It was one thing on a rather long list of things he hated about the White Fang.

Jaune looked back through the battlefield, he'd been a little enthusiastic about it, he could admit. He hadn't _meant_ to kill the first one, honestly expecting the guy to have aura. When he'd cut him in two, Jaune tried to dial it back. At least for the ten seconds it took for one of his 'unconscious' opponents to try shooting him in the back.

He'd probably have to have Tsune dig the bullet out of his skin later. He shivered at the thought of her blissful expression.

After getting shot like that, anyone who didn't lay down their weapons when ordered had made their choice. Nothing he hadn't seen before. Not in this life and not in those before. These virmen would kill thousands without hesitation, claiming to be saviours all the while. Speaking of, the woman currently pinned to the bin had stopped screaming and was now cursing his name.

"You blood thirsty human! You racist piece of shit!" She frothed at the mouth, the scales around her jaw visible beneath her mask, "Arc! I know you! You killed Adam! You'll burn at the stake for what you've done to us!"

Something twinged in the back of his mind as Jaune whipped around, backhanding the woman hard enough to dislodge her mask. Light green eyes, filled with hate bore into deep blue. "You already tried that," He growled, "and succeeded once. Once is all you get."

"We're going to kill every one of you, you fucking demon. You and your Schnee whore-!"

The woman's rant was cut short.

Jaune held one hand over her mouth as he lifted her up by her face. The movement cause his blade, still lodged in her arm to slice the muscle and flesh from her bone. Spittle and blood covered his palm as her screams were muted behind his hand.

He lifted her up a little higher, blade cutting more as she screamed louder. Blue eyes stared into agony filled green. If the woman's eyes were filled with hatred a moment before, Jaune took a small amount of satisfaction at the swift change to terror. He knew he was a monster, and now, so did she. As for what she'd said, to _hell_ with anyone who thought they could speak of his friends, his family, like that.

His grip tightened, he could feel her jaw breaking beneath his hand.

"Arc!"

The world jolted, causing Jaune to blink. The woman continued to scream, still muted by his iron grip.

"JAUNE!"

Jaune looked over his shoulder at the student who was shouting his name. Travis stood there, SMG held low in one hand, his face ashen grey and he was shaking violently. The young man refused to meet Jaune's eyes, keeping his eyes glued to anywhere other than his eyes.

Travis took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "Let her down. It's over. You won." His voice shook slightly and it looked like the guy was two seconds from throwing up. "Let's get Connor and get out of here…"

Jaune nodded, pulling his knife from the woman's arm. That was apparently the tipping point, between the pain and his hand keeping her from drawing a proper breath, the woman fell unconscious as released her. Her body hit the flood and slumping to the side.

Jaunne took a deep breath, walking past Travis to retrieve his handgun. His motions polished through the centuries as he reloaded the weapon. With a calming sign, he turned and fired three rounds into the unconscious woman, ensuring she'd never hurt anyone else. Ever.

Travis stared at him as he holstered his weapon. Shock and horror written across his face as he flinched away from Jaune.

Jaune paused to pick up and wipe the blood from Crocea Mors on a fallen enemies coat before he straightened back up. "Well, let's go find your friend." He said, trying to draw Travis mind off of what he'd witnessed.

Travis nodded woodenly and fell in behind Jaune as they moved towards what Jaune guessed was the main office that the White Fang had been trying to enter when they'd arrived.

* * *

Harper gave her brother a fierce hug, before being pulled off by paramedics that were trying their best to treat the boy's minor wounds. He'd taking a bullet in the arm towards the end as he and the others tried to barricade the room, but other than some minor blood loss, he was fine. He'd make a full recovery.

Travis's blonde teammate pounced on him next, hanging off his neck as she hugged him and thanked him over and over. Travis lightly patted her back, though his eyes were still fixed ahead of him. Jason noted that and pried Harper off of him, giving him some breathing room as a medic handed the shaken teen a bottle of water.

Eric stepped forward and clapped him on the shoulder, giving him a soft shake, "You okay, man?" He asked, concern laced in his voice. Travis nodded numbly and downed the water, fighting the urge to throw up. His twin at least knew to give him a little space, backing off and waiting for him to get his thoughts together.

"What happened in there? We heard a lot of screaming." Jason asked after a moment, curiosity written all over his face. Travis turned to Eric, he wanted answers as well. Harper wasn't paying attention as she broke off to follow her brother before the medics took him to a hospital.

"He's a Monster." Travis finally whispered after a solid minute of silence, "He… They're terrorist. Pieces of shit. I get that… They're responsible for what happened at Beacon…"

Eric and Jason traded uneasy glances, but stayed quiet. Whatever happened in there, Travis clearly needed time to process. The line of police carrying body bags out of the building made it clear the outcome of the fight, but for Travis to be as shaken as he was, there was far more to the story.

"Let's just go home…" Travis said, his voice still shaking. His brother nodded, looking over to where their 'teacher' stood, looking strangely unaffected as he gave a statement to the police sergeant. The teenager's blue coat was covered in blood, as were his hands and various parts of his face. Eric swallowed. The officer was clearly put off by it, but Jaune didn't seem to notice it at all.

* * *

Jaune sat in the back of the bullhead with the team RATH as they were flown back to Beacon, his coat bundled up and clutched to his stomach as once more, he was forced to try and avoid throwing up on the blasted thing. Despite the air sickness, Jaune felt better than he had in awhile. The fight, the adrenaline, and opponents he didn't have to restrain himself against. It was…. cleansing.

He caught his reflection in the opposite port window, freshly cleaned of blood in a nearby bathroom. It looked young. Far younger then he felt.

He sighed as his eyes brushed over the team across from him, he felt like he should have a few words with them about rushing off into an unknown fight without alerting the teachers. At the same time, he didn't feel like being the world's largest hypocrite. That, along with his stomach, had him sitting quietly as the airship set down in the Beacon docks. He could still feel the bullet under his skin, it was an unwelcome irritation, though far from the worst he'd endured. More fool him for not keeping his aura at full strength the entire time.

The blessed afternoon breeze was a god send as he took a deep breath and stepped off the bullhead. The warm sun felt wonderful on his back as he took a deep breath, reveling in the fact his feet were on solid ground once more. He really needed to spend more time appreciating the feel of stationary, non moving surfaces.

Glynda Goodwitch, stood with her arms crossed and a glare that could crack rock, was decidedly _not_ a god send.

"Mr. Arc, I'd like to have a word with you in private in a moment." She said sternly before turning her attention back to the students, all of whom immediately wilted under her gaze, "Is there anything you have to say for yourselves?" She asked.

Harper swallowed hard, but stepped forward before the others could say anything. "It was my fault, Ma'am. My brother was being attacked by terrorists and I forced the others come with me." She said, not quite meeting the woman's gaze.

"I see. And is your brother okay?"

"Yes, Ma'am. Thanks to Mr. Arc," Apparently she was going with the polite route, Jaune thought, "He was shot in the arm, but he'll live."

"That's good to hear. Please give him my well wishes when you speak to him again." Glynda said, the arctic edge in her voice receding.

"Thank you. I will." The girl said, a note of relief in her voice as her shoulders slumped in relief.

"That said, you still left in the middle of Dr. Oobleck's class without notifying him." The team's shoulders hunched as the icy tone came back, "Given the circumstances, I can forgive it, as I'm sure Dr. Oobleck will as well. However, you will still have to serve two hours this Saturday in detention."

Jaune winced a little at that, but then again, his team had received their share of detentions last year for similar acts.

Jason stepped forward next to Harper and met Glynda's gaze. "Yes Ma' you for understanding." The rest of the team nodded as well. He swallowed and looked up to speak.

"You are dismissed. Go get some rest." The headmistress said, heading off his request before he spoke as her voice once again showed a little warmth. Jason looked relieved as he nodded back to the others and they departed.

With them gone, Jaune was left to stand alone against the suspicious glare from his teacher - and now superior - that currently drilling it's way through the side of his head.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" He asked innocently.

"My office. Now."

* * *

"Explain."

Jaune winced as he tried to get comfortable in the chair. "I followed team RATH, ended up fighting some White Fang fanatics, and brought the team back." He said, finally find a way to sit without the bullet in his back rubbing on the chair.

Glynda crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. It was honestly impressive how she was able to convey the expression 'that's not enough' without saying a single word. Jaune stayed quiet for a moment before giving in with a sigh.

"The grainery Harper's brother works at was targeted by White Fang. I don't know their reasons, and I don't really care to. They shot first, and I am entirely justified in the actions I took." He said, crossing his arms. A part of his mind pointed out that he looked like some petulant teen being scolded for beating someone up on the playground - given that he'd left his coat at the door and was currently wearing only his T-shirt, jeans and boots while sporting a few bruises - instead of an assistant professor explaining the police report outlining how many terrorists he'd killed while following an errant team of students.

Glynda's face hardened to the point Jaune thought he could have sharpened Crocea Mors on her expression. Yeesh.

"You win."

A moment passed.

Jaune's brows furrowed in confusion. "I'm sorry, what?"

Glynda's demeanor changed entirely as she let her arms fall to her side. Her expression, scary as it was and one he'd come to know and taken comfort in over the millennia as a rock of stability, fell away before him. In its place, was a defeated look. It made him shift uncomfortably in his seat, coincidently making him scrape his bullet wound against the chair.

Double ouch.

"I read the police reports, Jaune. They send them to Beacon every time a student or faculty member is involved. It doesn't change. Every time you are involved..." Jaune glanced up, waiting for her to continue, "You've acted in defense of Beacon, and you've protected your team." She gave him a weak smile, "Going so far as to lay your life down so that those you care about might live..." Her green eyes focused on a the desk between them, "But I fear for the day when someone other than criminals or terrorist are the only casualties."

Ice went through Jaune's veins.

"You win, Jaune." Glynda sighed as she slumped forward to reach for the cup of tea that sat on the edge of her desk. Holding the cup close in her hands, she seemed to seek strength from its warmth. "I cannot perceive the trauma that must have been forced upon you to warp you into the twisted individual that you are now. If I could go back, I would have never allowed you to step foot in Beacon."

She took a deep breath, "But I do not have that power. So, please. Please, if you can give me a reason - even if it is a lie - just one reason that I should…. that I can trust that you will not bring harm to my students, then please. Please give me one reason to trust you."

The fact that she would not meet his eyes hurt him more then the her words. He was twisted. He wouldn't, couldn't deny it. But would she believe him? Could he trust her not to balk at what he so desperately wanted her to understand, to _believe_ in what he wanted to say? Glynda, outside of his teammates and friends, was the one person he wanted and truly wished would believe him.

Jaune's arms fell to his side, his thoughts warring between the things he'd known for all his extended life, and the desperate hope that had been rekindled by Weiss - that someone else might believe what he'd been through.

Swallowing the heavy thoughts, Jaune made his choice.

"May I have a cup?"

* * *

 **Ok, so a few points here. Jaune is… Well, an OP powerhouse when it comes to fighting. He's been trained by a champion for over a millennia, plus multiple other martial arts and was personally trained by a weapons nut. So. You know what that means for me?**

 **GunFu baby! Jaune's pretty ridiculous at this point, and after giving him time to condition his body (this is several months after the Attack on Beacon)? It'd be almost heresy for him to blink at mooks.**

 **Exactly. I get to write ridiculously violent and over the top things for Jaune.**

 **And I approve viciously.**

 **On a more serious note, there is a** **lot** **of things that happen in the chapter. We get Jaune's POV and an outsiders POV on how Jaune fights. For him? It's just reflexes and a rather routine task.**

 **Travis got to witness the Anti-Christ in the making. It's stark for a reason. Perspective from those not as ridiculous as the main cast… doesn't mesh well. **

**Exactly. There is a very defined line between what Jaune perceives as normal, and what others outside of him see. It honestly is a little… off putting.**

 **Much as we'd love for Jaune to be consumed with rage and animalistically rip people apart, like on the train, that's not how he sees things. They're his enemy. And they've been his enemy since forever. So them living is almost unnatural to him. It can get… psychotic.**

 **Yup. Jaune is… not normal. Also, we got a scene of Peter Port actually** _ **teaching**_ **something here. Because, let's be honest, Port is a very experienced individual, it's simply a matter of being able to understand what he is saying.**

 **This is always a blast to write. New character interactions are what I live for in fanfic. Cya guys next chapter!**

 **Same for me. See ya in a week or so.**


	9. Chapter 9

**WHat a week what a week what a week….. NEW CHAPTER**

 **Getting sick, driving places, college shit. It's been fun.**

 **It never, ever ends. Also, I am heading to the Canadian border next week, so Chapter 10 might be delayed.**

 **Have fun! I'm gonna be staying right at home.**

 **Lucky….**

* * *

Chapter 9

Who would believe it anyways?

Beta:ErenJeager17

* * *

Blake sat in the front of Dr. Oobleck's class, a notebook opened before her and pages of neatly written cursive filling the pages. The Doctor was giving a lesson on the founding of the Hunter Academies and the headmasters that had presided over them during the course of their time. Given that Blake had already gone through the syllabus for the lesson, she allowed her attention to wander back to the notebook.

It was a compilation of every White Fang sighting, attack, and recruitment drive documented outside the city of Vale that Sun and her had been able to find. She'd underlined those that had taken place anywhere near Ansal, but for the life of her, she couldn't find anything _in_ the town. Or even close enough that it would make sense that Jaune could have possibly been involved with. It was infuriating.

For all intents and purposes, the train she'd first met Jaune on was the first time he'd ever had any interaction with the White Fang. While finding a group of terrorists trying to kill your family was certainly a powerful motivator, it wasn't nearly enough to justify Jaune's attitude. It explained nothing, while raising more and more questions.

Her lips pulled down at the edges. _This is nothing new, nothing I haven't been over a dozen times already._ She thought to herself, gently tapping her pen on the side of the paper. Forcing herself to focus on the lesson once more, she resolved to ask Dr. Oobleck about it after class.

The man in question drew her attention back to a detailed and messily written outline of the class's next assignment that had been hurriedly written out on the blackboard, not five seconds before the bell rang.

The sound of frantic scribbling and the sound of scrolls snapping pictures filled the room before the students began filing out of the room.

* * *

Glynda Goodwitch stared at the young man across from her, a 17 - almost 18 - year old boy who had become the bane of her teaching career. A young man who'd been so desperate to escape Beacon at one point, who had gone out of his way to irritate and antagonize her and Ozpin at every conceivable opportunity.

A young man who'd almost thrown his life away time after time to protect a team he claimed not to care about.

Jaune Arc was a puzzle that refused to tell its secret, a dangerous individual whose capabilities were carefully hidden. He'd dismissed her every attempt to shape him into something resembling a Huntsman. It wasn't until later in the year a possible answer presented itself; that she was trying to force him into something that he had already surpassed. It made a shiver run down her spine. Whatever force or event, whatever act of god that had shaped the young man into what sat before her now - splatterings of blood still clinging to his clothes and skin - must have been something horrendous. She doubted she herself would have survived.

It bothered her greatly that one of her students, even if he didn't wish to be, had been hurt at such a base level that she was unable to reach him.

"Who are you?" Not really considering the question, but asking it anyways. Glynda looked him over, sat in the chair across from her, his tainted shirt belying just how dangerous he truly was.

Her question got a soft laugh from him as he took a sip from his tea, for some reason, she was reminded of Ozpin… Even the look in his eyes seemed to suggest he was searching for a way to answer her without giving an answer.

"I'm Jaune Arc. Son of Nicholas and Juniper Arc, and brother to seven… No, eight sisters." Glynda almost missed the way he flinched as he corrected himself. The grin that suggested an inside joke know to no one edging across his face. "I'm a reluctant student of Beacon Academy, leader of team Jazzberry and now - even more reluctantly - an assistant professor of Beacon."

Glynda sighed and looked down at her own cup, it appeared that the subtle route was out of question. But then again, did she expect any less? "What happened to you, Jaune? Please be honest, because I am out of patience for word games." The tea tasted bitter as she took a sip.

A long silence stretched between them.

"I'm… I'm tired, Glynda." He slumped a little in his chair, "I… I can't explain myself in a way you'd accept. You'd call me insane." The pure exhaustion in his voice caused her brows to furrow. The words themselves sounded childish, petulant. Amusing enough, they sounded like an angsty teen who was trying to make an excuse as to why their dyed their hair and were wearing leather pants.

She wished she could accept it as just that, but she needed answers. Jaune Arc was, as always, an extremely complex, complicated person. His abilities, his attitude, his disposition towards anyone he did not consider important? It ate at her.

She picked one of the many occasions that had been cause for concern in his… career.

"During the Breach last year," Glynda spoke softly, "After you had been drugged by Torchwick, after you cut your way through the train and killed Torchwick, you lashed out at your fellow students. You tried to kill them." Jaune's jaw line tightened, "I can excuse it for the simple fact that you were drugged… but I am worried -"

"They weren't students."

The words, quiet as they were, cut off her. What did he mean? They were transfers students from Minstral, and he had… No. The realization hit her with the force of a truck. Glynda felt her eyes widen and her heart drop. No. They weren't students. Not really.

"You knew…" She whispered, staring wide eyed at Jaune, who was staring hard at his own cup. "You knew who they were."

Jaune shrugged. How could he…. He knew who they were… She felt anger well up. "You knew and you didn't say anything…" People had died. Her students had died. The school crippled by those they had welcomed. Stabbed in the back without warning. Jaune had known and hadn't said anything….

"Why?"

Jaune shrugged again as Glynda felt her anger turn into rage.

"Why didn't you say anything?!" She shouted.

The look of shock on his face went ignored as she felt something ugly worm its way through her. Glynda took pride in keeping control over her emotions, in thinking logically and, and... and he had known who Cinder Fall was. Rage burned through her mind. She wanted nothing more then to throttle him then and there. Beat him against the wall with her semblance until he answered her.

Her knuckles turned white as she gripped her chair. The air around them buzzed with the tell tale aura of her telekinesis. Jaune leaned back and wiped a hand down his face. He looked exhausted all of a sudden, though she barely processed it. His refusal to answer infuriated her further.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?!" She roared, storming to her feet and slamming her hands down on the desk. Paperwork and pens _flew_ off the desk, scattering on the ground as the tea cups shattered on against the wall. "You let them die! WHY DIDN'T YOU DO ANYTHI-"

Something snapped behind Jaune Arc's eyes as he _blurred_ forward.

"YOU THINK I DIDN'T TRY?!" He roared in her face, mimicking her stance as his hands shattered the wood between them, his face twisted as he towered over her, "YOU THINK I JUST STOOD BY WHILE _SHE_ DESTROYED MY LIFE OVER AND OVER!"

Anger and betrayal burned in those deep blue eyes.

Glynda felt an overwhelming Aura washed over her, stripping her of the anger that had burned too hot. She almost staggered back. A profound sense of loss and despair slammed into her as he _glared_ at her.

"I had NO choice!" His voice well beyond screaming, "If I had stopped her before the Fall, something far, FAR worse would have came! I tried it before and FAILED! I was forced to sit back and watch everyone I love - Everyone I fucking care about - march to their deaths again and again. Pyrrha? Dead. My Team? Dead! You and Ozpin and RWBY and EVERYONE! DEAD!" Jaune seethed, his hands clenched so tightly they turned white. "And then _I_ die. Then I wake up and do it again, and again, and fucking again."

"I tried." He continued, his words dripping with barely restrained fury, anguish burning in his eyes, "So, so hard to make you, and Ozpin, and Qrow, and Juniper believe me." He jabbed a finger towards her and she half expected it to strike her down, "And every time, no one believed me. _You_ scoffed at me. _Ozpin_ imprisoned and _tortured_ me. My team refused to believe me."

The air in the office was heavy. Too heavy to breathe as he glowered down at her. Her legs felt weak but she couldn't move, her body refusing to obey as she stared into the eyes she'd seen once before - when Jaune Arc had held a sword to her throat in Ozpin's office. When Ozpin had backed down and did whatever Jaune had wanted.

"So if you are going to stand there and accuse me of _allowing_ that… That witch to attack _my_ home. My friends… Then we're done here." Jaune snapped, disgust thick in his voice, before stepping back and turning towards the door, his shoulders heaving in rage. Glynda stared as the man picked his coat off the ground and stormed out of the room, leaving the door to swing back on its own.

As he crossed the threshold of her office, the aura that had robbed her of breath vanished. Glynda dropped into her chair, eyes glued to the door as the tried to catch her breath. Nothing made sense. She brought a shaky hand to her rub her face, a sudden, pounding headache making it impossible to concentrate.

She wanted to be sick. She wanted to curl up and hide away. She could still feel the inexorable sense of _loss_. The air in her office felt freezing as she wrapped her arms around herself, sitting in her wrecked office, feeling like a terrified little girl.

* * *

Blake finished cleaning up the supplies and reorganizing the classroom after the last class, placing a chair back under the desk before heading back to Dr Oobleck's office. She picked up her notebook before knocking on the door once and slipping inside. The Doctor was sitting at before a stack of papers that he was grading with a fresh cup of coffee next to him.

"Everything is cleaned up, Sir." Blake said as she made her way over to retrieve her own cup of coffee. It certainly seemed like she was drinking a lot of caffeine lately.

"Ah yes, thank you my dear." Oobleck said as he marked down another score and laid the page with on top of the completed stack, "I know students often complain of homework, but it is often hard to sympathise when the teachers must complete literally twice as much in half the time." He remarked, earning a chuckle from Blake.

"I will endeavor to make sure my papers require as little review as possible." She said, taking the seat opposite him.

"I do appreciate that, Miss Belladonna, though I have the sneaking suspicion that you have a question for me." He said, setting the pen down and focusing his attention on her with a soft smile.

Blake ducked her head, taking a sip of her coffee, "Yes Sir." She said, "I was wondering if you could tell me anything about your sessions with Jaune."

Dr Oobleck cocked an eyebrow at that, "I'm afraid I do take pride in my discretion when discussing matters with my students, Miss Belladonna."

Blake opened her mouth to say something in return, but quickly closed it. Of course Dr Oobleck couldn't openly, or privately, discuss what was said between a student and a counselor. She sighed, playing with the edges of her notebook.

"Sir, I'm… I'm worried about Jaune." Blake said softly, throwing all pretences of subtly away.

That got a two raised eyebrow from the green haired professor, who softly set down his marking pen and gave her his full attention. "Miss… Bella- Blake. Is something happening with Jaune?"

Blake didn't miss the shift from formal to first name. "I've been trying to… understand what happened to Jaune." She could feel her ears curling beneath her bow, "Something happened to him. I… I just want to know what it was."

"And why, Blake, do you feel like you deserve to know that." Oobleck's voice wasn't accusatory, sounding more curious than anything. Even still, Blake had to stifle an automatic response. She didn't like having her reasons questioned.

"Because I… I care about him. He's my Team Leader. He saved my life, twice - No, three times." The train, when she'd stared death in the face and left her old life behind. Roman Torchwick almost killing her on the docks. Adam Taurus, red blade slick with blood. Blake took a breath to steady herself. "Sir, I've want to help him… Jaune is… He's saved me so many times, and he's hurting."

Contradictions and confusion reigned supreme anytime her titular team leader was involved. She wanted know why. Why was Jaune so… confusing?

Dr Oobleck leaned back in his chair, removing his glasses to clean them on his shirt. "Blake," He said quietly, "In all of my counseling with Mr Arc, I can say that I have never met a single individual who is as dispassionate and cynical of their own well being as he."

Blake's attention snapped to the man sat opposite her. "I'm sorry. What are you saying?" An uncomfortable image settled somewhere in the back of her mind.

Oobleck took a long drink of his coffee, "I'm saying that Mr Arc is of the mind set that those he cares about are more important than himself. What that may have stemmed from, I honestly do not know, but he has continually shown a mind set of… bringing his foes to his own level, rather than raising himself to theirs." Oobleck signed, his face even as he met Blake's gaze, "Mr Arc's tendencies to leap into dangerous situations without thought is a disturbing one, though."

Blake closed her eyes for a moment. Damn it Jaune.

* * *

His head was pounding. He needed fresh air. Needed _something_. He couldn't think past the guilt that tore at his insides and the desperate need to get somewhere, anywhere other than where he was, to lay down and let it all slip away. He was so tired, so exhausted. Yet he drove forward. Something was wrong. He wanted to scream. To break something. The headache rocked him so hard he thought his head was going to explode.

Jaune rushed out of the school, not knowing or caring where he was going. He ignored everyone he passed as he shoved open a side door and crossed the school grounds. Why? Why was he so angry? Why had he snapped like that? Why hadn't he just kept his damned mouth shut?

He'd done it again. First with his team, and now with someone he respected so much. Why was he so stupid? He should have kept his damned mouth shut. He'd worked so hard… so damned hard to get here and he couldn't close his mouth for five minutes.

Jaune's feet came to a halt and he finally took a look at his surroundings. A strangled laugh escaped his lips as he stared at the place that had been the center of his world for so long. The irony wasn't lost on him as he collapsed onto the ground, feet dangling over the drop that his life had revolved around for longer then he could remember.

He was at the cliffs of Beacon.

Sitting down, his face fell to his hands as he sat there on the edge of oblivion, nothing before or below him. The headache kept pounding. He just wanted to lay down and sleep. He didn't care how for how long, forever maybe. Just anything to get away. The guilt continued to assault him. The look on her face… he should have kept his mouth shut. He wondered what she thought of him now.

Gods he needed a drink.

* * *

Ozpin's scroll buzzed softly beside him, drawing his attention away from the form he was reading. Raising an eyebrow, he checked it.

"I believe that is enough for the day, Miss Schnee. You are free to spend the rest of the day with your team." He said, giving her a small smile as he laid his scroll face down on the desk.

Weiss glanced up in surprise, "Oh, uh, thank you, Sir." She said, taking a moment to save the file she was working on. With a small sigh, she stood, "If there is anything else you need, I'd be happy to help." She said, pausing a moment more.

"I will, thank again for your help today." The old man said, "You are dismissed."

Miss Schnee gave a small bow before turning for the elevator and exiting the room. Ozpin waited till he heard the elevator descend before he stood with a sigh and picked up his scroll. The secondary entrance to his tower office slid open with not a sound as he took the secret route through the labyrinth he had built into the walls of the school.

It had been an irritating process recreating them without raising suspicion, but well worth it in his mind.

Not five minutes later, he knocked on the office door of his second in command. A moment passed without answer, so he reached over and passed his scroll across the keypad on the door. While the door was unlocked during office hours, with the nature of test results and sensitive administrative details, a certain level of security was required.

A second later, the door unlocked, allowing him to gently ease it open. When he wasn't assaulted by an invisible attack, he slipped in and closed the door.

"You wanted to speak to - Glynda." Ozpin took a moment take in the scene before him. His eyes drawn to his assistant, kneeling next to the wall, dustpan and small broom in her hands as she looked up at him. The papers scattered across the floor and cracked desk went ignored as he quickly made his way over to her.

Several strands of platinum blonde hair had fallen across her eyes, catching on the glasses that now sat askew on her face. Even immediately after the Attack, he'd never seen her in this state. He couldn't think of a single times she'd ever looked so… heart broken.

Glynda slowly stood up as he approached, broken porcelain forgotten as she looked at him with misted emerald eyes. "Did you know?" She asked weakly, her voice quiet even in the silent office.

Ozpin's brows drew down, his gaze taking in the desk with two indents where the wood had been broken. The faint smell of blood lingered, though Glynda bore no wounds he could see.

"Did you know?" Glynda asked again, drawing a breath and seeming to steel herself. "Did you know that Jaune Arc knew who Cinder Fall was."

The question hit the headmaster, stopping him in his tracks as his eyes whipped back to her's. He opened his mouth, only for a weak chuckle to cut him off. "Of course you knew… of course you did."

Ozpin took another step towards her as he held one hand out, only for her to flinch back. "Why don't you sit down, Glynda, let me get you a glass of water and tell me what happened."

A long moment passed with neither moving until a soft huff escaped her lips as she turned and walked towards her chair, shoulders ridged and movements forced. Ozpin stepped into the living quarters attached to her office and retrieved a glass. Returning a moment later, he found his assistant sitting slumped in her chair, a distant look on her face as she stared at the broken section of her desk.

Ozpin gently set the glass down before her before resting a hand on her shoulder, the contact earned another flinch. Something painful twisted in his gut as he retracted his hand. "Glynda, please tell me what happened."

He slowly moved around the desk, sitting down opposite her as she took a drink. "He knew her, Ozpin, he knew who Cinder Fall was. He attacked her and her team while drugged… tried to kill them." Her words started slow, her breath hitching once.

Green eyes met his for a moment before flickering away,"I… I asked him why he didn't tell us… Why he didn't say anything… I got angry."

Ozpin glanced down at the desk but the fist marks - what else could they be? - were on his side of the desk. Ozpin swallowed, it was easy to say that Mr Arc had surprised everyone, though none more than himself that night in the tower, before the Attack. The cold and calculated eyes of a man far older than his body, a man who'd seen too much….

"Did he hurt you?" he asked, concern heavy in his voice.

Glynda shook her head, staring at the glass clutched in her hands, "No.. he didn't lay a hand on me…" She took a deep breath, "He said… he said a lot of things that I don't understand, and the look in his eyes… he was angry, but also hurt. So hurt… like a wounded animal, tortured and -"

Her brows knit together, her eyes focusing on the desk once more, "Sir, he said you tortured him…" an uncomfortable feeling settled in Ozpin's gut as Glynda refused to meet his eyes.

Ozpin paused in his answer, somewhat in surprise at the sudden formal address, then a little more as what she'd said registered. "Glynda," He said quickly, perhaps a little louder than he'd have liked, "I would never. I have never laid a hand on Mr. Arc, you know that."

Glynda nodded, "I-I know. But… you don't understand," Glynda brought a hand up to massage her forehead, "He… He reminded me of you."

If Ozpin had been surprised before, it was shock that now held him in place, "I am not sure I understand what you talking about, Glynda. Why does he remind you of me?"

Glynda shook her head, eyes closed, "He just… He let his Aura slip when I screamed at him and it felt so… Old. And his eyes, Ozpin, the look in his eyes was just like yours." Glynda set her glass back on the desk, rattling it slightly as she let go. "There is something deeply wrong here, Sir…"

Ozpin closed his eyes and released a long sigh, "Why don't you get some rest, Glynda, you've been through a lot today." He needed to find Mr Arc, it seemed they had things to talk about yet. He withheld another sigh, so many things that required his attention, yet so little time to tend to them.

Glynda swallowed hard, nodding once before she stood and left the office, glancing back at him once before she closed the door to her personal quarters. The click of the lock left Ozpin alone with his thoughts. Unsettling and troubling thoughts. Things grew more complicated by the day anymore, or at least it seemed. Another whiff of blood caught his attention, stirring him to action as the ancient wizard set about cleaning the office of his friend. Mr Arc was not going anywhere just yet, and he owed more to Glynda then she imagined. Perhaps the simple task might help clear his mind.

Giving a small sigh, the Headmaster moved to his task. Stooping down and picking up the papers on the ground, Ozpin paused as he saw what they were. Police reports.

* * *

Qrow groaned as a quiet knock disturbed his paperwork. Ok, well not really _paperwork_ per say, more throwing darts at the papers he'd stapled to the wall, while enjoying a stiff drink. It was a patented grading technique… Of sorts.

The nocking sounded again, a little louder this time. If he ignored it, maybe it'd go away.

"Mr Branwell? I know you're in there." The voice was muffled by the door, but recognizable.

Another groan, this one louder, escaped his lips as the man half rose, half rolled off his chair. The fact that he didn't face plant onto the floor wasn't a sign that his semblance was giving him a break, just that it was saving up for something. That something was probably on the other side of the door if his suspicions were correct.

Qrow counted to four before he opened the door, just long enough for the person on the other side to reach out and knock again. He opened it quickly, grinning a little at the sudden surprise on his visitors face when their hand made contact with thin air.

You had to be fast with Schnee's. Their stuffy upbringings wouldn't let them show any emotions in front of people, therefore, if you wanted to surprise them, you needed to think outside the box.

"Whatcha want, Ice Princess? I'm busy with teacher stuff." He groused, putting on a show of taking a drink from the bottle in his hand. It'd been a long day. Two kids had been set on fire, but that was it, so he was still in the green as far as he saw it. Still made for a long day.

Weiss Schnee took a moment to compose herself, looking dismissively at his bottle. Not too surprising, he thought. What was surprising was her lack of a snappy comeback as her glanced down at the floor before looking around behind her. "May I come in, please?" She asked, voice a little low.

Qrow almost dropped his bottle at the polite request, but nodded and stepped out of her way. The girl ducked inside, wrinkling her nose at the almost overwhelming stench on alcohol hit her. Qrow watched as her eyes scanned the room like she was looking for something. Or someone.

"Have you seen Jaune?" She asked, looking back at the ragged man.

Qrow's brows drew downwards, "Ain't seen your boyfriend today. He ain't here if that's what your asking." He said as he stumbled back to his chair, kicking an empty bottle aside before sitting down heavily. "He out on the lamb or something?"

Frustration and worry etched it's way across the white hair girl's face, "I-I'm not sure… Thank you for your time, sir." She said softly, taking a step towards the door before Qrow called out, stopping her.

"Hey, something happen with the kid?" He asked, the ex-heiress's attitude was starting to make _him_ worry. Not to mention that he actually liked the kid, even after getting beaten by him. The kid was smart, knew how to do things. All of those were positive points in Qrow's book. That said, if anything had happened to him, Qrow at least owed him for saving Yang.

"I… I don't know," Weiss said as she looked down at the floor, "I haven't talked to him since this morning, and he seemed fine, but when I got back to the room, he wasn't there, and wouldn't answer his scroll and he'd thrown his coat in the laundry basket… it was covered in blood."

Qrow watched as she clasped her hands before her, she looked so worried that any thoughts of teasing her were thrown out the window. "I'm sure he's fine, Oz said he got in a shoot out while watching some students earlier."

The look that crossed the girls face said she hadn't known. Qrow winced. "Buuuuttt, they'd all come back in one piece. No one got hurt." He added quickly.

"I need to find him, will you please help me?"

Qrow glanced at the clock set on his desk, the angry red digits telling him it was only 7pm. He would have said no, but he liked the kid and the desperate look on Little Miss Ice Storm was enough to push him over the edge. "I'll help," He said, the growl in his voice more for show, though the way her face lit up with hope made him want to laugh out loud. That'd be a dick move though. "You stick around Beacon incase the block head wanders back, I'll go check the town."

"You know where he is?" She asked, surprise filling her voice.

"I _might_ know where he's at." He countered, "No promises though. And the kid's tough anyways, so it ain't like he can't look out for himself."

The little Schnee didn't look convinced, but nodded. "Thank you. I really… Just thank you." A moment later, she was out the door, her heels clicking away in the distance as Qrow pulled a hand down his face.

The older huntsman scratched at the unshaven growth on his chin, wondering if he was going to regret this in the near future, or farther down the line. He _did_ say he'd help though. "If I was an angsty 17 year old - _possible -_ sociopath, where would I go…" Qrow mused to himself as he leaned back in the chair. Only for the leg of said chair to snap - for no good reason - and send him sprawling on the floor. Qrow simply sighed, laid flat on his back as he took another swig, "Thank you, Semblance. That was very helpful."

* * *

Two hours later, Qrow found his man. It was a decent enough establishment set somewhere between the reputable bars and clubs that made up the majority of Vale's nightlife and dim lit, scummy places some high strung hero from Ruby's favorite action movie would go to get information.

The Alternate Paths was an in between place tucked out of the main traffic ways, but friendly enough you wouldn't have to worry about getting knifed for your wallet. Qrow's favorite type of place. If only he'd checked here first, instead of the half dozen other bars he'd been to already. A quick text let Ice Princess know her boy toy was safe.

Time for a drink after all the running around.

As the poster covered door swung shut behind him, Qrow took a moment to scan the area before setting his sights on the reason for his little jaunt. Jaune sat at a side table tucked into a corner, sat with his back to the wall and a distinct lack anyone else within two tables of him. Blue, wavy eyes passed over Qrow without registering him as the man walked towards the kid.

"Mind if I steal this?" Qrow quipped as he pulled out the chair opposite Jaune, sitting down heavily and flagging down a waitress.

Jaune tried to focus on him, blinking and looking around before he spaced back out. Damn, the kid must have had a lot already. "Free world…" Jaune muttered before turning to the waitress that had come over for Qrow's order and giving the empty glass in his had a soft rattle, which earning a nod in return.

"I'll have what he's having." Qrow said as the waitress smiled to them and left for their drinks. He turned back to Jaune, "You look like shit."

Jaune gave a snort as his eyes focused a little, "What do you want old man?" He asked, his voice showing he wasn't quite as drunk as Qrow had pegged him for. That just raised the question of why he'd looked so out of it in the first place. And why there was no one sitting within two tables of him.

"Heard you got into a scrap and didn't call me." Qrow teased as the waitress brought them their drinks, "Then I find you've ran off to go drinking without me. I'm hurt, I really am."

Jaune let out a sigh and downed half his drink in one go as Qrow sniffed his own drink. Vodka Blue Rabbit. A double if his nose was right. It usually was. The older huntsman took a long sip, enjoying the kick of the alcoholic energy concoction. "So you gonna tell me why you're here anyways?"

"Why you here, Qrow." Jaune asked, turning the question around as he let his gaze wander off again.

"Cause Miss Priss knocked on my door two hours ago asking if I'd seen you. She was worried. Found your shirt." Qrow stated, looking for any reaction on the kids face. Nothing. It was yet another thing on the list of 'Shit that's weird about Arc' Qrow had been putting together.

Jaune blinked twice before shrugging, "Didn't think they'd worry. Not the first time I've ducked out for a night, they haven't called so I figured they were fine."

"Your scrolls turned off."

That earned another blink as Jaune drew the device from his back pocket. It broke in two as he set it on the table, a bullet hole in the center. "Ah. Guess that'd explain it."

"I'm guessing it was a little more than a couple punks you in a fight with." Qrow said, raising an eyebrow at the broken scroll.

Jaune shrugged, "Couple Fang. Nothing serious though. One got a couple shots at me." The shear disinterest in his voice caught Qrow's attention. Getting in a shootout with terrorist would be a good excuse to get drunk, but a niggling part of his mind said it probably hadn't crossed the kids mind.

"Why you here, kid." Qrow finally asked,

"None of…" Jaune cut off his snap, leaning back in his chair and taking another drink. Qrow didn't miss the way Jaune flinched as his back touched the chair. "I just needed some fresh air. Haven't had a drink in a while and was thirsty."

Bar music floated over the sounds of other patrons laughing and drinking, the air tinged with the smell of cigarettes - Qrow swore he could smell weed - in the room. The clicking of pool balls over in the far corner mingled with the off key chimes of a slot machine. It was a decent place.

"So you ditched without telling anyone where you were going."

Jaune shrugged, taking another drink. "They'll be fine. I figured on getting back before morning anyways. No need for them to panic." The dismissive tone said he fully believed that as his eyes continued to stare in the middle distance.

"You know, when you find someone who goes out of their way to try and look after you, most people call that a good thing and try to keep them."

"Weiss'll understand." Jaune said, finishing another drink.

Qrow sighed, taking a long drink and settling down in the chair. "You want to talk?" He asked, setting his glass down and looking Jaune in the eyes. "You know me, and it can't hurt to get whatevers eating out in the open."

Jaune leveled a look at Qrow, huffing and finishing his glass before signalling for another. "I ain't gonna drag you into my shit. You'll just think I'm crazy, or worse, a stalker."

Qrow laughed, "You got a pretty low opinion of me then. I've seen a lot of crazy crap, kid. Heard even crazier. I've seen shit you can't even dream of." That sentence. That earned a laugh from the kid, though not the kind Qrow would've liked. It was hollow, short, and the kind of laugh he himself used when Raven called him a coward.

"Fine, if you think I won't believe you, let's find out then."

The kid took a deep breath and let it out. "That's really petty. Children don't even fall for that one." He said, picking up the fresh glass the waitress had set down.

"Doesn't make it useless." Qrow defended, finishing his own drink and signalling for another.

Jaune seemed to struggle with himself for several seconds before caving, whether it was the alcohol or something else, Qrow was content to at least hear him out. It was probably some horrible memory from the kid's past, brought back up by his fight today.

"I'm a time traveler… Or was. I'm hundreds of years old, probably over a thousand at this point, and I've been trying to stop the Fall of Beacon for longer than I can remember."

Or it could be something like that.

Qrow coughed, spitting out the liquor he was in the middle of drinking. He waited for Jaune to laugh or grin or do something to say it was a joke. He didn't. He just took another hefty pull from his glass and glared into the middle distance.

"You're joking. Right? Time travel is some nerd's wet dream…" Qrow said, his eyebrows drawing down. For the life of him, he couldn't find a single trace of a lie, not in the kid's voice, or his face or even any ticks that might give it away.

Jaune scoffed. Blue eyes, hazy with booze, locked onto red. "You keep a picture of your team in your breast pocket, next to a flask that Summer gave to you. Identical to the one she gave Raven. Both of you held onto them for the same reason. Also, Raven is Yang's mom, and a complete bitch who abandoned you guys to go back to the tribe. You resent her for that. Oh, and both of you can turn into birds that correspond to your name."

The glass in Qrow's hand shattered. How the _hell_ did Jaune know that. Hell, Yang didn't even know much about her mother, much less anything even close to that. Ok, he'd been a little careless with his 'semblance' around the kid lately, but he'd never mentioned his sister's name before. "How do you know that?" He asked, stunned for a moment.

"Time travel."

"Bullshit."

Jaune slumped forward with a sigh, letting his head rest on one hand. "I just told you something there should be no way for me to know, and you don't believe me." He said, laughing to himself before taking another drink. "This ain't the first time I've tried to tell you, Qrow. You never believed me before, and I ain't got the energy to try again. So if that's all, I'll thank you to fuck off and leave me be."

"How?"

"Time travel."

Qrow felt that uncomfortable feeling in the back of his mind again. His sixth sense going wild, screaming at him that something was very, very wrong here. He felt an overwhelming urge to write the kid off, he was paranoid as hell anyways, so it wasn't too much of a stretch for him to have found something out about Qrow and his sister. What bothered him was _how_ the kid had gotten it.

"You telling me the truth, kid?" Qrow asked slowly, "Because otherwise that's a really fucked up game you're playing."

A cold pit formed in the bottom of Qrow's stomach, the feeling reaching up to grip his heart with icy claws. It wasn't possible, right? There had…. He'd never even heard of such a thing outside of Ruby's favorite comic books. Qrow ran a hand through his hair and let out a long breath. _Time travel, huh. Not the weirdest fucking thing ever._

"How does… how… I'm too sober for this shit." He whispered, trying to work any form of logic into the situation. The drink in his hand was gone, in pieces all over the floor really, so he waved down the waitress again and ordered a bottle of their hardest. He was putting tonight on the Beacon card, that was for sure.

When the bottle came back, he poured himself a shot, downed it and poured another one. He slammed that one too, and the one after that.

"Having fun?" Jaune asked, his voice heavy with sarcasm as Qrow caught him watching out of the corner of one eye.

Qrow took a deep breath and let it out slowly, one hand on the bottle as if his life depended on it, the heat from the drink seeping through his body. _Ahh, that's better._ He eyed the kid again, _Off the deep end of reality again._ He thought. "How old are you?" Qrow asked, wincing a little as he took another shot.

Jaune shrugged again, "I don't know. A thousand? Maybe more?" He reached over and pulled the bottle from Qrow's hand and pouring several shots worth into his own glass. "Are you just gonna sit there and ask for shit you ain't gonna believe?" He asked in a bored tone as he handed the bottle back.

"I don't know. You're claiming some unbelievable shit right not."

"I didn't ask you to come here."

"No… No you didn't." Qrow shook his head, "You said you tried to… Never mind. Has anyone ever believed you?"

Jaune shook his head before pausing, a complicated expression flashing across his face. "No one but Weiss…. And only this time." He swallowed hard, his voice lowering, "This time she believed me, and it was because she's the Maiden this time."

Qrow said nothing, had nothing to say. They sat there for a good ten minutes, the only sound between them was the clink of glass as each took turns with the bottle. Minstrailian music drifted over them as Qrow grit his teeth, sucking air as a tingle ran through his body. The alcohol had finally hit, and with a heavy hit at that. In that moment, his mind cleared and he felt far, far better than he had before. He thought over what Jaune had said, and it was slowly making more sense.

"This time." Qrow said, "You saying Weiss isn't the Maiden?"

Jaune took the bottle again and took a deep pull, mumbling something Qrow couldn't hear before answering. "Pyr is always the Maiden. Ozpin changed his mind this time."

Qrow nodded. Pyrrha had been their first choice, up until the Kid's teammate had been chosen. Rationally, the Kid shouldn't have known that. Time Travel. _What a bullshit thing_. It answered everything and nothing. Just like the Kid.

"That makes sense." Qrow allowed, nodding in thought, "So you changed something then. You fucked something up to make things different." _Ah, there was the rational train of thought_. Clarity thanks to alcohol. The state of being where even the most broken could empathise with the insane.

Jaune laughed long and hard, throwing his head back before recovering and taking the bottle once more, forgoing his glass to drink from the bottle itself. "Yea, I fucked up. I fucked up bad. But!" He declared in a bout of cheer, "This is a... a better one! Everyone is alive and in one piece." He said cheerily, handing the bottle to Qrow, who took a swig as well. "I won."

Qrow finished his pull before joining in with Jaune for a laugh, it felt good. It reminded Qrow of better times, back with the team after a mission. Even when things went bad, someone would crack a joke and bring everyone's spirits back up. His scroll dinged in his pocket and he drew it out to check. It was from Ice Princess of course, thanking him for finding Jaune and asking if he was okay. Qrow sent a quick text back before taking another drink.

The bottle was empty.

Qrow let out a sigh and set the bottle back down, it was getting late already and he had to be up at eight for his class. Qrow grumbled and pulled out a stack of lien, handing it to the waitress before standing up. There were still a few things he wanted to do now before hitting the sack. He held out a hand for his drinking buddy, who blinked blearily for a moment before taking the hand and stumbling to his feet.

"Let's get you back." Qrow said, starting off for the door with Jaune stumbling behind him. "Maybe you can tell me some stories on the way."

Jaune let out another laugh, "Sure. Sure. As long as you don't throw me in a padded cell again."

* * *

Weiss sat on bed with Macska in her lap, the kitten sound asleep and purring softly, one hand gently stroking its fur while she flipped the pages of her book with the other. A small smile slipped across her face as Macska stretched in her sleep, tiny claws splaying out as the kitten buried its head into her leg.

The relative peace of the room was broken by the door swinging open and two figures stumbling in side. Both seemed rather drunk, if the smell and their posture was any indication.

"Really, uncle Qrow? On a school night?" Yang asked as her uncle deposited their team leader into a chair, "And you dragged Jaune in with you?"

"Hey, Firecracker, he was out on his own and I was nice enough to bring his sorry ass back." The older huntsman said, making his way to Jaune's bed and sitting down with a heavy sigh. His eyes tracked around the room before landing on Weiss.

"We heard." Yang said, leveling a disappointed look at Jaune, who for his part, looked unrepented and more than a little drunk.

"Heyyy… I just needed some air. Busy day ya know?"

"Yea, we got back to the room and found you clothes." Yang crossed her arms, "Why didn't you call us? We could've helped."

"Scroll broke." Jaune replied, waving an arm dismissively, "Wasn't a big deal anyways."

Weiss was about to respond to that when she felt Qrow's eyes boring into her, the Huntsman's red eyes make the hair on her neck stand up. She turned to meet them, her own gaze narrowing at the calculating gleem.

"Your boytoy's got some interesting things to say, ya know?"

That made her gaze narrow even further, Jaune was obviously drunk, so he may have said something he wouldn't normally have. So far, she was the only one who he'd told about his past, and as far as she knew, the only one who'd believed him at all. That, along with the suspicious look Qrow was giving her set her on edge.

"Hey now, I ain't gonna say anything to anyone. I just want to know if you believe him."

"Believe him about what?" Weiss asked, voice lowering and taking on a sharp edge. Jaune once told her that he'd tried to tell Qrow the truth, but Qrow had turned him over to Ozpin. No way in hell was she going to let that happen again, not here, and not by her hand.

In the background, Yang was trying to get Jaune to wake up and take a shower, saying he smell like booze and he needed to change clothes.

"Time travel." Qrow said, ignoring Weiss' tone and speaking at his normal volume. If he noticed the rest of the people in the room suddenly listening in, he didn't show it. Weiss noticed it instantly.

Blake, who was sat on her bed with a book in her hands, became very still and her ears perked in their direction. Yang, who was in the process of dragging Jaune to his feet and shoving him towards the bathroom, paused before throwing him in and closing the door behind him. Jaune made a distressed sound, muted behind the door, as he tripped on something and fell in the bathroom.

Weiss looked at her teammates, confusion clear on their faces as they blatantly waited for her response. Did this really have to happen now? When Jaune was out of it and she was left with no help.

She let her hand run down Macska's back, pausing at the kitten's side as she let the warmth and vibrations of its purring give her something to focus on.

"Weiss? What's going on?" Yang asked. Despite whispering, the girl's voice was loud in the otherwise silent room.

Weiss swallowed, this was something Jaune had been putting off and straight up ignoring for the last few months. While it wasn't something she fully agreed with, she trusted his experience and respected his wishes to not bring anyone else in to his past. She swallowed again, that certainly looked like it had gone out the window.

"Yes." She finally said in answer to Qrow's question, "What Jaune said is true."

"You got proof?" Qrow asked in a tone that was far too calm for the situation.

"I saw it myself. Up on the tower." Weiss said softly, keeping eye contact the whole while. If this was going to come out now, she figured it might as well come out with all guns blazing. "I beat Cinder Fall, killing her with Yang and Blake's help." She glanced to them, wincing at how closely they were paying attention to the story.

"When I tried to find Jaune after that…." Weiss closed her eyes, "He was dead. Adam killed Jaune, and Jaune killed Adam. Traded blows." She said, trying not to relieve the scene, "I.. I used a glyph to try and turn back time…"

"I failed… But something else… I don't really know what, took me back anyways." She looked at others in the room, taking in the various reactions. Horror and disbelief. "I was back at the top of the tower and I had a choice. If I let myself die at Cinder's hand, Jaune would live." Weiss felt Macska shift in her lap, she stroked the kitten's fur gently, taking strength from the small thing.

"You didn't though. You did something else." Qrow said slowly, a complicated look on his face.

Weiss nodded, "I don't really remember it. Everything was… off. Wrong. I didn't want to die, I didn't want to lose Jaune, or you guys." She said, looking up meet first Blake's eyes, then Yang's. She felt tears prickling in the corner of her own eyes as the emotions and fear from that night came back in full force.

Yang slowly crossed the room and sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her and rubbing her back gently. Yang looked confused and obviously had questions, but was apparently willing to hold out for the moment.

Weiss' breath was shaky, but she managed not the break down. "I killed Cinder, again, and jumped out of the tower to try and reach Jaune in time. I wasn't fast enough, but something… Something let Jaune live. Something changed Fate that night."

Deafening silence reigned supreme as Weiss fell silent. Qrow stared at her for a long time, not saying anything, just staring at her.

"Huh. How about that." He said softly, breaking the air in the room. "I think I need another drink." He said before standing and exiting the room, leaving the remaining occupants in confusion.

Yang's hand stilled on Weiss' back, "What are you saying Weiss?" She asked quietly.

"I'm saying that Jaune… Jaune has relived the attack on Beacon over and over." Weiss started slowly, "Not in a dream or anything like that. Actually relived it. He said…" She took a deep breath, "He said that not everyone survived, that Beacon always fell in the past, some of us died in it."

"That's not possible… is it?" Blake asked, speaking for the first time.

Weiss shook her head, "I wouldn't have believed him if he hadn't… if he hadn't cornered me, told me things… impossible things. Then I saw it too." Weiss wrapped one hand around herself, "It was terrifying."

"I don't believe it. I can't." Blake said softly.

"Then don't believe it."

The words came from the bathroom door where Jaune stood, shirtless and bleary eyed. His hair was lank with water, falling down to almost cover his eyes. Weiss let her eyes trail over his bare chest, the massive scars that ran around his torso and the stab marks across his heart. New bruises were splashed across his chest as well, blue and black marks where he'd tanked bullets earlier. Though his scars were not what drew their attention. It was the empty look in his eyes.

Jaune stood there, half naked and covered in scars like some action hero when he finally reached the damsel in distress. Weiss wished the atmosphere could match that image. Instead, Jaune looked through them. His gaze was a million miles away and Weiss knew she was the only one who understood why.

It was so jarring, so polarizing from how Jaune usually looked. Weiss swallowed hard as she stared at the man she loved, who stood there before them looking so empty.

"Jaune?" Yang broke the silence, her voice breaking slightly. When he didn't answer, she took a step towards her, "Jaune, what's going on?"

Jaune's eyes tracked to her, emotions now flickering behind his blue eyes. "Yang… I'm-"

"No! No more word games." Weiss flinched at the volume her teammate, "I know that look on Qrow's face," The girl waved a hand at the door, her voice raising in volume, "and I know there's something else going on. What with Weiss and you and the Attack, and... and..." Yang shook her head, wild golden mane whipping around, "I thought I could let it go, let you have your secrets and shit, but this has gone to far!"

She stormed across the room, up to Jaune, pausing not a foot from him, "I want answers, now!"

"Yang!" Weiss called out, scooping up Macska and setting her in her kennel, "Yang, calm down!"

Yang whirled around to point a finger at her, "No, I'm getting answers right here, right now."

Weiss stared as Yang's hair began to glow, her eyes flickering between lilac and red as she drew a deep breath. Slowly, she turned around, "Jaune, I… I once asked you if your secrets would hurt our team. You didn't answer me then, and I let it go. But I want you to tell me the truth. Now."

Yang seemed to shiver and stared into Jaune's eyes, "What happened to you?"

* * *

"What happened to you?"

The words echoed in his head as the room spun slightly. He should have figured drinking would be a bad idea, hell, almost every single time he had a drink this loop, something bad happened. Every. Damn. Time.

And now, Yang was looking at him. Looking at him like she had in the past. His head swam and he wished he could throw up, just to avoid this. He didn't understand what was happening, or why. Why was everyone asking questions now? Or had they been asking him before? Did it not matter back then? Did it matter now?

He looked over to Weiss, stood there next to her bed and looking torn. He could see it in the way her eyes wouldn't quite meet his. She'd wanted to tell the others, but he'd always shut her down, not wanting to ruin what they had.

Had he become careless? Probably. He'd told Qrow things he really shouldn't have. Why'd he do that? Why not just feed Qrow some bull let him work it out. He'd done it before, why not this time?

Jaune sighed and ran a hand through his hair, the buzzing in his brain made focusing hard. Sometimes, that was for the best, right? He wasn't a strategist, he just did things and hoped they worked. If it worked, he did it again and again. It'd had gotten him as far as Vacuo in the past, out in the middle of nowhere. A burning building. It was how he'd gotten where he was. He looked around the room, at his friends, at some of the people who he knew better then he knew himself. People he loved and cared about.

People he'd fought with, people who had died for him, and who he'd died for as well.

Weiss, stoic and stern when when they were trying to find Cinder and everyone's nerves were on edge. The scar across her face the least of the injuries that she'd seen. Hell, he wouldn't recognize her without it. She always was the image of discipline. Something prickled in the corner of his eye. Weiss, curled up in a ball, sobbing after the death of her sister. Weiss, staring blankly as they buried her teammates and friends, building an icy shell around her heart as their rag tag team marched into a losing war. The girl who was his first crush, who had always been on the fringes of his earliest memories. The woman he professed to love.

Weiss, stood before him now, eyes wavering and filled with uncertainty.

Blake sat on her bed, her golden eyes meeting his with confusion and distrust. Gods that hurt. She'd always, always been the shadow of whatever team she was on, but as reliable and trusted as his own shadow on the ground. After you earned her trust, she'd bend heaven and earth to see you in the best light possible. Quiet and reserved, he'd once fallen for her elusive charm. Then he'd watched the life drain from her eyes as she was murdered in front of him. She was committed and loyal to the death. His eyes watered.

Now, she watched his every movement, not understanding the turmoil he was drowning in.

Yang. The light of the party and center of attention, first to make a shitty pun or joke at what ever hell he dragged them into. Jaune's heart hurt at the memories. Trapped behind a crumbling wall, bleeding from a gut shot wound, yet she just grinned at him and said, 'Come on Jaune, not like I'm gonna _bite the bullet here_.'. Yang, screaming in sorrow and pain, crying on his shoulder as she mourned. Yang, standing strong against a horde of Grimm she could never beat, just to buy them time while she was left behind. Yang, trading her own life to save her uncle. He felt something wet trickle down his face.

Yang stood in front of him, eyes flickering between anger and hopelessness and hurt.

He stood in front of them all. Hurting them. Being selfish and only doing what _he_ had wanted. He'd planned on leaving them to their deaths, of escaping a hell that they'd all be forced to face. He wanted to be sick. He tried to blink, but his vision wouldn't clear.

He couldn't hurt them any more.

Dammit.

* * *

 **Welp, there's that GOTCHA! HA! HA!HA!**

 **It's like a quick punch in the face, before Flint sweeps the leg. STAY ON COURSE MAN!**

 **Let's just say this chapter went in a LOT of different directions when I was writing it.**

 **A lot he says. The guy is using a compass with Pyrrha in his party. **

**And Pyrrha's just doing hot laps around the group.**

 **Suffice to say, follow Nora. She'll get somewhere eventually.**

 **Yea…. Oops. I swear I do have a plan and direction though.**

 **He just surrenders to the character gods when typing. GO AWAY OUTLINE! You're a suggestion!**

… **. You're not wrong.**

 **Ok. On a more serious note here, the way I write is far more character driven than plot. Because I can honestly get away with it here. This is a post Beacon attack where Pyrrha and Ozpin DIDN'T die and Cinder DID. So when I'm writing, I don't have to** _ **make**_ **a character go through 'scenario A' because 'Scenario B' has to happen.**

 **For instance, I originally went into this chapter thinking that Glynda would start to believe Jaune, but when I started writing, I realized that Miss G would be** _ **PISSED**_ **if she found out Jaune 'could have' prevented the attack. Now WE all know he couldn't, but she doesn't. Therefore, we get this little gem of a chapter.**

 **I try very hard to write 'in character', and while that varies MASSIVELY with each and every writer and reader, this is my interpretation. In that, I try to put myself in each character's mind as best I can to write out who they think, act, and speak to each given scenario.**

 **At least that is my excuse and I am sticking to it.**

 **Oh, and I had the SCARIEST DAMN DRIVING WEEK EVER. Had to take an 78,000 pound rig 700+ miles that ended by going through the foothills of the Colorado Mountains. So, after a 15 mile down hill grade, smoking my breaks and almost setting the truck on fire, I can safely say I never** _ **ever**_ **want to see that truck again.**

 **Also, while I doubt this will be affected by it, do beware of the dipheads trying to start fights in the comment section, their easy enough to spot, but let's just spread the word a little more.**

 **Any comments posted by guests that straight up attack other commenters are probably just spam, ignore it all.**

 **Anyways, thank y'all for sticking with so far, and hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Next chapter will probably be delayed, due to moving to another state for work.**

 **Cheers -Jim**


	10. Chapter 10

***looks out over the 400 plus subs* Well now…. *Picks up Jeager and Yeet's him into the crowd* BLAME HIM!**

 **You lying piece of- *disappears in the crowd.***

 **I AM NOT SKIPPING ANYTHING I SWEAR, JUST BUILDING IT UP A LITTLE MORE**

* * *

Chapter 10

Still bad at titles

BETA: ERENJEAGER17

CoverArt: KegiSpringfield

* * *

Ruby collapsed just outside of the training rings, taking relief in the cool grass and warm afternoon sun on her face. Her tired brain replaying the day in an attempt to ignore her aching muscles. She was glad that everyone had taken Jaune's little lesson seriously, but _come on_! Did he really have to tell Pyrrha to stop holding back so much?

Blarge.

Skipping Port's first class by sparing with Jaune had been great. Then they'd ran into Miss Goodwitch. THEN they had to go to one of the LATER lessons. Because nobody tried to skip classes in front of Miss Goodwitch.

It wasn't a bad lesson, at least not a boring one this time, but it was still a lecture.

And _now_ they had a practical test for Grimm Studies. Bah.

Ruby rolled over and groaned into the grass. Yang was being weird too, having spent the last couple of Port's classes with her attention glued to the man. It was really, really weird. Ruby loved her sister, she really did, but sometimes Yang could be…. Well, Yang.

Also, their lessons with Jaune had been. Weird.

She wasn't sure what was really going on and that was bothering the heck out of her. Being the growing young woman that she was, Ruby was well aware that she wasn't the most social of people, but Jaune was her friend.

Maybe not at first, but now he had lots of friends. He had a girlfriend for pete's sake!

Ruby took a moment to consider how Weiss might react to being called that. Her eye would probably twitch before she huffed and said, " _I believe we passed that childish relationship status long ago. We are engaged, thank you very much."_ To which Yang would probably make some innuendo about sex and make Weiss blush and stammer.

Ruby giggled a little to herself.

It'd just been that he'd been so… closed off to everyone. Especially at the start of last year. He'd been trying to get kicked out of school constantly, and been irritating and antagonistic towards everyone. At least when he wasn't saving their lives.

Oh, and he _could really fight_. That one didn't surprise her that much; she'd watched how he carried himself when they'd first met. And _not_ in the way Yang would make that sound. His movements just… polished. His sword never once got in his way, never inconvenience him, and never looked like it was uncomfortable. She was pretty sure he was only uncomfortable when he didn't have it.

Ruby took a deep breath as her thoughts wandered around aimlessly. She should remembered that she was laying face down, it would have prevented her getting a mouthful grass.

"Gahck, flaack."

Ruby rolled over again, spitting out green bits as she came back to reality.

Ren was standing near her, one eyebrow raised as she pawed at her mouth.

"What?" She asked indignantly, once she had finished wiping her mouth.

"Nothing…?" Ren said, his calm composure giving away nothing.

Ruby pushed herself up into a sitting position, "Pyrrha and Nora done with their match?" She asked, looking around for the rest of her team.

"They are." Ren replied, handing her a bottle of water, "Pyrrha won, but Nora got some good hits in. I think they both took Jaune's advice seriously."

"That's good." Ruby nodded, "And thanks." She took the bottle and greedily guzzled it. "Ahh, that's better. So, you ready to go again?"

The quiet boy gave her a soft grin. "Are you ready to lose your weapon again?"

"Whaaaat. I never lose my precious baby."

Ren just raised an eyebrow again as he offered her a hand up, choosing to stay silent on that one. The two stepped back into the ring as Nora let out a tired whoop of support from the sidelines.

 _Even Nora's energy isn't enough to tank three rounds with Pyrrha._ Ruby mused as she took up her position a few yards away from Ren. This time, she didn't deploy Crescent Rose right away, instead opting to keep her baby in its compact form for the moment.

They weren't using live rounds, due to them being outside and not wanting a stray round to break a window and anger Miss Goodwitch. It was a considerable handicap to both of them, given their weapons, but with her speed and reach she could blitz Ren before he could even get a hit in.

Taking a moment to carefully craft a foolproof plan to take on her slippery teammate, Ruby's mind wandered back to their earlier spar with Jaune. The way he just flowed out of her reach every time, like he knew where she was going to swing next. Sure, anyone who paid attention could work out her tells, but that would take years. At the least! And! He was almost as flexible as her, _he literally jumped over my slash!_

 _How does he move like that? I mean seriously, I've been training since I was eight!_ Her thoughts was paused when Ren called out, asking if she was ready.

She shook her head clean before responding, "I'm always ready. Are you?"

"I am."

Ruby shot forwards in the blink of an eye, only using a little of her semblance to boost herself. Ren sidestepped her frontal attack, moving away just enough to be past the reach of her scythe, just like he'd done in their first match. Ruby planted her lead foot, halting her momentum just as Ren did the same, confident this was his opening to get a few swipes in at her exposed back.

Ruby was ready this time.

She triggered Crescent Rose, the mecha shift gears springing to life in an instant, and unfurled her custom made weapon of mass destruction. The shaft, and more importantly, the bladed tip on the end lashed out, striking Ren in the chest.

Aura flared to prevent any permanent harm, but the unexpected strike still slid him back enough for Ruby to finish deploying her weapon and bring it around, placing the hooked blade behind her friend.

"I yield." Ren said quickly.

Ruby froze in her tracks, relaxing as Ren slowly stepped out of the carefully laid trap.

"Well done, Ruby." Pyrrha said from the sideline, "Excellent set up, baiting Ren into using the same tactic." The champion gave a soft clap. "The only thing I would advise is being very careful about when you use a move like that. Leaving yourself open to bait an opponent in like that only works once, and there's always the risk that they might be fast enough to avoid it, or strong enough to switch it back on you."

"Thanks Pyrrha, I'll try to remember that." Ruby cheered, a bit of pride in the chest.

Pyrrha was the best partner and teammate she could ever ask for; supportive, kind, always willing to help her when she needed it. And now, being a lot more involved in giving feedback and pointing out things with their fighting styles. Usually little tips, but very useful all the same.

She hadn't heard everything that Jaune had told Pyrrha, seeing as it had been in the middle of their spar, but it definitely had an effect.

"Ren, you had a valid plan, but you should have noticed that Ruby was using almost the exact same opening move. That should have raised a red flag." Pyrrha gently admonished, "Especially when you're fighting the same opponent repeatedly. While changes to their style should be taken into account, any things that stay the same should be as well."

Ren nodded, "I will take that into consideration in the future."

Pyrrha smiled at both of them before calling out for them to begin again.

Ruby shook her head clear and prepared for several more rounds against the green ninja of her team. Maybe afterwards, she could talk to Ren about what was on her mind.

* * *

"Ruby, why are we doing this again?"

"Hey, at least we're not under the sheets this time."

"Awe, but I like being under the sheets with you and Renny!"

….

"What?" Nora asked, throwing her arms wide as her friends stared at her. "It's fun! Playing detective is so much funner when you get to hide away and act like spies or something."

Ruby took a moment close her mouth and shake her head, looking to Ren for help. The dark haired man just sighed and shook his head, silently telling her to simply ignore the possibly/ possibly not innuendos from the hyper girl.

The three members of RnR, a sub team Ruby had founded last year, were sat on her bed back in their dorm room. A plate of cookies sat between them, half eaten, and a battered looking notebook rested between Ruby and Ren.

Despite the fact that is was already fairly late, Pyrrha had said she wanted to run down to the Recresition Desk and place an order for extra ammunition, and accepted Ruby's quick list of additional requests before heading off. It'd probably take at least a little while for her to return.

"Ok, Supreme Leader," Nora started off, "What missions do you have for us today?"

Ruby beamed at the nickname, "Well now, my co-cookie loving teammate, we are here to go back over this!" She said, holding up the notebook.

Nora leaned forwards and gave the open book a closer inspection, "Ohhh, I remember this! I love all the little rose doodles in it!"

It really was a shame they'd never had a chance to really implement anything. Then the Vital Festival had pushed it back even more, then the attack, then the recovery. Now they were here.

"I want to pick up where we left off," Ruby said, opening the book up to the page Ren had once written. The neatly penned words stood in distinction to her own scribbled writing. "So to catch back up, and with everything we've seen and learned after our last meeting…. What do we do?"

Ren pondered for a moment, rubbing his chin, "Ruby, you have to understand that sometimes it's best not to push people." The soft spoken teen said, "We all know that Jaune is a very reserved individual, and someone who holds his feelings very closely."

"I know. That's why I'm here, with you guys." Ruby replied, a sad smile pulling at her face, "I just feel like I need to do something. He's still hurting."

Nora reached over and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "Renny's just being cautious, he doesn't like to just run in without a plan. That's why he's the best."

Ruby smiled, "So, let see where we left off." She ran her finger down the list of traits and qualities that the three of them written down so long ago.

"So we know that something changed after his mom was attacked," She led off with, remembering the conversations at the little party she and Yang had put together… right before the attack.

"It's possible that he saw coming to Beacon as abandoning his family." Ren noted, "Though I don't know _why_ the Headmaster was so adamant about having him in the first place."

"I think Jauney might be some kind of super duper master huntsman or something." Nora said, "I mean, he barely trains, but he's super strong and smart. Not many people are able to put Pyrrha on the back foot like he does. Even I can't do that!"

Ruby bit her lip, Nora's words were worrying similar to her own. So that meant she wasn't the only one who saw it. And it meant she wasn't crazy and seeing things.

"That is a very good point." Ren nodded, "His… skills and style sometimes feel, familiar."

She fell quiet.

"What are you guys talking about?"

EEP! Silver eyes flashed wide as Ruby spun around on the bed. It was a shame she was sitting on the edge, as her sudden movement shifted her balance over the edge.

 _THUMP!_

Ruby groaned as she looked at her upside down partner standing in the doorway. "Hey Pyrrha? You're back early."

"I am." Her partner nodded, stepping over to offer her a hand up, "Are you ok?"

"Eh, eh, haha." Ruby's head was still spinning slightly as she accepted the hand. "We were just… Talking. Yea, talking about… things."

Ren gave a small sigh from the bed, "I don't suppose you'd like to join us, Pyrrha?"

The redhead raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Maybe? I don't mean to intrude."

Nora patted the spot next to her as Ruby sat down, making room for her partner. Pyrrha took her spot, glancing down at the notebook still open on the bed. She reached out and picked it up, it took a moment for her to skim over the contents, and confusion quickly replaced her curiosity.

"You three are having meetings about Jaune?" She asked, glancing around to the others.

Ruby nodded, "Yea, I had this plan last year to try and figure out what was wrong with him… I got Ren and Nora in on it because they'd met him once before."

"Why didn't you ask me? I could have helped." Pyrrha asked, not hurt, but curious again.

Ruby grimaced a little, "I didn't want to make you do something you didn't want to do. I know you didn't like Jaune that much when we first teamed up."

Pyrrha smiled gently, reaching over to nudge her shoulder, "Has anyone told you that you are incredibly selfless?"

"Ren has a couple times." Ruby said, blushing slightly. It wasn't her fault she wanted everyone to be happy.

Nora cackled a little, "Now everyone is in this together! Go Team RRNN!"

Pyrrha giggled a little, "Ok, so what are we talking about?"

"Inconsistencies in Jaune's attitude and abilities." Ren summarized, earning a nod from the others.

"Well, that's certainly a broad subject." Pyrrha deadpanned, her head tilting a little to the side. "What are you hoping to accomplish by doing all this?"

Ruby placed her hands together in her lap, "Same thing I said at the party last year. I just want to understand what happened…. Try and help him be happy."

Pyrrha smiled at her again, "Well, ok. What can I do to help?"

Ruby felt a burst of emotion run through her. Without a doubt, she had the single best team ever! "Well, right now I was thinking about how he fights and stuff. I mean, you're the only one I've seen beat him in a spar. Jaune even beat Uncle Qrow!"

A thoughtful look crossed the Champion's face, "You know, I think that if he actually put all his effort in, I wouldn't stand a chance against him. Not now, especially. He almost beat me last year."

Ruby frowned, but it was Ren who spoke up, "What do you mean? With your semblance, I can't think of anyone capable of beating you in a one on one spar. Even a professional Huntsman would have problems getting past your defenses."

It was a testament to how comfortable Pyrrha had become with them, that them inferring she was almost untouchable in a fight didn't elicit the knee jerk denial she usually threw up. That made Ruby feel good too. "That may be true, but that's against people who either don't really know or understand my semblance. Jaune… Jaune knows exactly how it works, somehow."

Ruby didn't miss the complicated expression that crossed the taller girls face, "He also knows my fighting style." She said, thinking of how Jaune had danced through her attacks.

"Jaune does seem to have a rather specific knowledge of all of our techniques." Ren mused, "He was able to counter every one of my offensive moves when he spared with me. He did the same with all of us, really."

"I know, and that's what bothers me." Pyrrha nodded, her brows drawing down, "That and…"

Ruby waited for her to continue, but when five seconds turned into fifteen seconds, she spoke up. "'That and…' what else?"

Pyrrha took a deep breath and let it out. "He sometimes uses _my_ moves and techniques." She said, "I mean, uses them exactly like I do. The way he uses his shield for attacks as much as defense…" She shook her head, "I've seen him use moves that are signature of my fighting style."

"Maybe his semblance is the ability to copy moves?" Nora asked, and as silly as it sounded, Ruby couldn't help but think that might be the case.

Pyrrha look down at her hands, "I… maybe. I don't know. It's just that when he and I sparred today, it's like he was familiar with everything I was going to do. Not in some…" Pyrrha bit her lip, "It almost feels like its muscle memory for him. Like he's sparred against me for years and can just… go through the motions. It felt like I was sparring with one of my trainers again, someone who was able to read my tells perfectly."

Ruby stared down at her hands, as strange as it sounded, what her partner had just said seemed to encapsulate a lot of things perfectly. Jaune just felt, familiar for some reason. For all the times he was trying to drive them away or make them angry at him, there had been an undertone that they were familiar to _him_. He knew which buttons to push to say the least.

"What did he tell you when you sparred against him today?" Ren asked, breaking the silence that had overtaken the four, "Other than what he said about my control over aura, and about helping you guys, he pointed out several things about my style that I need to hem up."

Pyrrha made a face, "He said I need to be more aggressive. That letting my opponent have a chance was foolish, and that by holding myself back, I risked losing more than just a fight. That's on top of telling me to start being more involved with everyone else's training."

"He suggested I take another weapon," Nora added, "And said I tend to over commit with my attacks and am locked into it once I start." The bubbly bomber huffed a little, "It's not like the Grimm are all that hard to pin down."

"Jaune wasn't talking about fighting Grimm." Ruby cut in glumly, picking at the blanket.

There really was no way to argue that, if the fact that no one said otherwise was any indication. Nora made a face, Ren simply nodded, and Pyrrha looked distraught.

"Much of my style," Pyrrha said, rubbing one arm as she looked at the notebook, "My combos and techniques revolve around disarming and incapacitating my opponents. It still translates to fighting Grimm, but it's more for fighting people…"

"Jaune… Jaune is used to fighting people." Ruby said softly, "He's used to… killing."

Ren and Pyrrha simultaneously reached out and gently touched her shoulders. She shook her head, her voice a little strained. "Jaune is only two years older than me, he's your guys age, but he just acts like he's so much older. Like he's the only one who can protect everyone. Like it's his job to keep us safe. It's not fair."

It was something she'd tried to push out of her mind for a while now, but the more she tried, the more she thought about it. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense - the worse it made sense - and caused a pit to open in her stomach.

Ren took a deep breath, "Jaune always fights those who threaten his friends, even when it involves getting his hands dirty. I… I can understand that." Nora placed a hand on his knee and just smiled at him, earning a honest smile back.

Ruby knew everything could be justified. Almost all of his actions, at least the ones where someone died, were either in self defense, or in protecting others. It was just troubling, that he wasn't affected by it at all. At least not openly. She honestly didn't think it bothered him at all.

Just the idea of having to go so far rankled her. She'd never hold it against him, not even once, but it was a line she never thought she'd be able to cross.

Ren spoke up again, "It's not fair. I don't know if it ever will be fair. People get hurt, either from the Grimm or from other people, but that's why we're here, isn't it? To help stop the suffering."

Ruby smiled a little, it was why she wanted to be a huntress. The dream of being able to protect others from harm, to be strong enough that she could save lives. Like Jaune did.

Then again, he'd been trying to run away from it all. To get kicked out of school and go back to his family. Ruby shuttered at the thought of what might have happened to them all if he'd succeeded. Blake would have died at the docks, the Breach would have been ten times worse, and the Attack…. She refused to think any more on it. It hurt to much.

 _It doesn't matter. He was there when we needed him._ Ruby shook her head again. That was all in the past. It didn't matter now, what did matter was the future, and what they were doing now.

"We talked about him having PTSD, or something similar," She said, more to fill in Pyrrha, "We can't figure out what happened, but his nightmares, seeing _us_ being killed, I know he's scared of losing us. Even though he only really met us last year."

Pyrrha gave her a shoulder bump, "I'm sure Jaune will tell us when the time is right, I know he's getting better even now. I've seen him out for early morning runs, and he has gotten a lot stronger physically. So that means he's been eating more."

"That's true. Maybe, maybe now that the attack is over, and everyone is safe, he'll start to relax a little more." Ruby said, latching onto the little piece of hope. "In the meantime, I still want to involve him and everyone else in fun things. I know we have a movie lined up for this weekend, but I was hoping we could do more on a day to day basis too."

"We could do more sparing with each other! That's always fun." Nora suggested.

Ren shrugged, showing he didn't really care either way.

Pyrrha smiled down gently at her, pulling her in for a sideways hug, "We can do that. Maybe some card games or something during free periods. We'll all do what we can to help, gods forbid you'll do it on your own if we don't."

"Awweee." Ruby giggled as she returned the hug and Nora - not wanting anyone to be left out - grabbed Ren in a bone crushing hug. Best. Team. Ever.

A knock on the door caused everyone to jump a little. Ruby simply received shrugs from everyone on the bed, so no one was expecting anyone. The red digits on the alarm clock said it was way past bedtime. 10:45 to be exact.

Ruby rolled her eyes and slid off the bed, traipsing across to the door and throwing it open.

Yang was standing in the doorway.

Ruby's cheer died in an instant. Her normally loud and pun addicted sister looked like she'd been run through the ringer. She was dressed in her pajamas, but her hair was in disarray and she had tears building in her eyes. She latched onto Ruby before she could get anything out, pulling her into a desperate hug.

"Yang! What's going on? Are you ok? Talk to me?!" Yang didn't answer, she just held her their and took deep, shuddering breaths.

Ruby could just see past Yangs hair, into JWBY's room. Everyone looked, scared. Blake was sitting on the bed, eyes wide and ears pinned back. Weiss was standing next to a chair near the center of the room, pain and sympathy plain on her face.

And Jaune… Jaune sat shirtless on the chair, his scar dotted back to them as he refused to turn to face them.

* * *

 ***Sitting in a bomb shelter at an undisclosed location***

 **THE NEXT CHAPTER IS COMING OUT THIS CHRISTMAS! I SWEAR (** barring natural disasters) **SO DON'T CRUCIFY ME YET!**

 **Well, there's that. This was completely Jeager's idea, I swear, I just happened to agree with it. It felt like I was really just bumrushing the story and cutting out other people and what they were dealing with. So, I tried for this.**

 ***Climbs out of the crowd.***

 **Yeah, I'll take full responsibility for this. It took a while cause of life stuff and cause we both had to take a hard look at this part of the story. Seriously, I think these two chapters have been looked at WAY MORE times than any others. It's gonna be a blast though.**

 **Get ready. :D**

 **Yup. Really can't catch a break recently. ALTHOUGH, Because this is kinda an interlude chapter, I already have Chapter 11 99% written, and that WILL be finished and uploaded for Christmas! Yay! Right?**

 **Right?**

 **Hello?**

 ***Shoves Jim into crowd* YOUR TURN!**

 **You- *Stares at the mob* I-I have cover art now?**


	11. Chapter 11

**YOU IN THE BACK, PUT DOWN EXTERMINATOUS RIGHT NOW!**

 **CONTINUATIONS AND THINGS - It's only a few hours earlier from last chapter, and a direct continuation of C9, but this will be part of what you've all been waiting for. The whole reason you're following this story.**

 **WILL THE TRUTH BE REVEALED? FIND OUT NOW!**

 ***eye roll* And I'M the hyperbolic one.**

 **Yea, yea, what ever. You ready to hurt people's emotions?**

 **Fiercest of flames and all that. Gotta burn 'em down to build 'em up.**

 **In all seriousness, this chapter's gonna hurt. A lot.**

* * *

Chapter 11

Unbelievable truths

* * *

BETA: ErenJeager17

CoverArt: KegiSpringfield

* * *

Yang was angry.

Frustration and unanswered questions that had piled up over the months had finally wore her down. Little things that she'd wanted to know were never answered, and now this. This was the final straw and she snapped. Snapped at her team leader as she stood in front of him, trapping him in the doorway to the Jazzberry bathroom.

Her teammates, somewhere behind her, were silent as she prepared to tear into their team leader. She could _feel_ her eyes flickering between lilac and red as she glared at him. It was only their first week back together in school and already things had deteriorated. Things that had laid dormant over their 'break' from school were beginning to resurface, Jaune's habit of sneaking out without telling them was the biggest one, but far from the end of her list.

There were so many damned secrets.

Her Dad's team had been torn apart by secrets, she wasn't about to let her own do the same.

She took a deep breath, they were going to get everything out and over with now. Fixing a sharp look on the shirtless teen in front of her, she took a step forward, "What happened to you?" She demanded, keeping her eyes locked onto his.

It was a curious moment that passed in the room. Jaune met her gaze, before his eyes drifted to the others in the room. Whatever he planned to say or do, she was ready. Any smart ass comments, and attempts to get around the question would be shot down and pulverized. No matter what he said, he was going to-

Was he crying?

Confusion swept aside any and all anger as concern replaced her temper. Tears built in her team leader's eyes. She took a tentative step forward, reaching out to touch his arm. "Jaune, are you okay?" He didn't flinch back or try to pull away, instead, he carefully reached out and pulled her closer.

A soft hic'ing sound escaped him as she held her for a few seconds.

Nothing made sense at the moment.

Of course Jaune would - knowingly or by accident - find a way out of the situation. She almost wanted to reprimand him, but as he hugged her, wrapping his arms around her form and holding onto her for dear life, all those thoughts were shoved aside.

She could feel something moist hit her shoulder, any thoughts of her hair were ignored as he took a shuddering breath. One that wracked his whole body.

"I'm sorry…. I'm so sorry." He muttered, voice shaking as he held her there.

"It's ok, Jaune. It's ok." She said, bringing her arms up to rub his back. She'd _never_ seen him like this, and it brought up a rather unpleasant thoughts in her mind.

Her hand touched something warm and sticky.

Blood.

Panic took hold as Yang held her hand up, stained with blood. "Oh my god. You're hurt!" She said, pulling back and subsequently pulling him further into the room. She heard Blake let out a startled gasp as the faunus leap to her feet.

"I'll get the first aid." Blake said as she slipped past into the bathroom.

Her partner was back in a heartbeat with the white box in her hands, moving past Yang as she grabbed the desk chair and brought it over. Yang quickly slipped out of Jaune's hold, making sure to steady him as he almost stumbled and quickly forced him into the chair, not that it took much effort, as he practically fell into it.

Yang knelt down in front of him, placing her unstained hand under his chin and drawing his face up, "Jaune, what happened?"

"Don't worry about it… I don't want you to worry." Jaune said softly, eyes still watering, "I got.. _Hic…_ careless, let one of them get a shot at my back."

"Who shot you?" Blake asked from behind him, carefully cleaning the wound with a towel.

"White Fang."

Yang's eyes widened, as did Blake's. "What!? Where? Why didn't you tell us? When did this happen?" The dark haired girl asked, her voice raised in alarm.

Jaune shrugged, staring down at the floor. "Doesn't matter… It's over."

"Damnit Jaune! You can't keep doing this." Blake hissed, "I thought you said you were done with that kind of crap!"

Jaune just sniffed in response, his head hanging lower. Yang saw more tears beginning to build up as Blake started to clean the wound again. Jaune didn't seem to notice, though his breathing was labored.

Her partner muttered a curse, "I think the bullet's still in there!" she said as she examined the wound.

Yang recoiled, "What?! We gotta get you to the infirmary."

Jaune shook his head violently, "No, no... It's not a big deal, Blake can dig the bullet out, it's not deep."

Yang's mouth fell open, "Are you kidding me right now?! You're shot and have a bullet in you! We have a hospital here!" She said, shooting to her feet and grabbing Jaune by the shoulders.

"It's fine, Yang," Jaune mumbled, refusing to move. He pulled his arm out of her grip with more force than she was expecting. "Blake, it's not as bad... _hic..._ as it looks and you've done this before." He said, "I'd have gotten it myself but I can't reach it."

Yang gaped at him, "Are you freaking kidding me, Jaune!? Weiss!" Yang said, turning to the white haired girl, "Are you gonna help me or what?"

Weiss had moved a little closer, but had yet to say anything about her partner's actions, neither yelling at him for being careless nor demanding he go to the infirmary. The ex-heiress's expression was complicated as she slowly walked over to them.

Very carefully, she took Jaune's hand and held it, kneeling down next to him and whispered something she couldn't hear.

Yang wanted to scream. "What is going on?!" She shouted, partially giving in to that desire as she felt her anger coming back and she threw her arms wide, staring at them in exasperation.

"Yang, calm down." Weiss said sharply, fixing the blonde with a short glare. Yang about fell over, Jaune was hurt and Weiss was telling _her_ to calm down?!

Weiss turned to Blake, who looked equally shocked, standing behind Jaune. "Blake, can you get the bullet out?" She asked, voice even and controlled, even as she squeezed Jaune's hand. Yang could see the smaller girls hand shake slightly in Jaune's.

Golden eyes stared at pale blue for a moment before Blake carefully shook her head in the affirmative. "Good, get it out and douse it with with alcohol, then put a gauze patch over it."

* * *

Blake wasn't sure exactly when reality had decided to take a holiday, but it had, and now she was looking at the bloody back of her team leader as he sat in a drunken stupor in their room. Now she being told to pull out the bullet that was lodged in his back instead of taking him to the infirmary.

She nodded when Weiss asked her to remove it - still unable to find any sign of rationality - and just went with it. There had to be a good explanation to all this. In fact, there had better be.

She could see the bullet, nestled just below skin, having barely broken through at all. Gingerly, she reached in, wincing at the thought of how much it had to hurt for him, and plucked it out.

With the other hand, she reached for a bottle of rubbing alcohol and cleaned out the wound. Jaune didn't flinch, didn't even take a deep breath at what must have been a horrible sensation. _How can he not react to that? How drunk is he?_ She thought, just before the memory of his back covered in burns surfaced in her mind's eye.

"I got it," She said to Weiss, holding up the small round for them to see.

"Good, now put some-" Weiss broke off as Jaune rolled his shoulders. A pale, soft glow covered his body as he pushed his aura outwards.

Blake stared slack jawed as she watched his skin stitch itself back together in front of her. Her breath caught in her throat as a feeling of guilt washed over her before she pulled her hand back. Within ten seconds, pink, new skin covered the small hole and the bleeding finally stopped. She stood there for another five seconds before gently wiped off the remaining blood with the towel and retreating to the bathroom to wash her hands.

* * *

Yang was sitting down now. She wasn't sure how or when, but she was sat on the end of one of the beds, staring at Jaune as the glow of his aura faded. An uneasy feeling had settled in her stomach a minute ago, and it had yet to leave. The things Weiss had been saying to Qrow didn't make sense, and what she'd said about Jaune relieving the attack… It didn't feel like she was lying.

She swallowed hard, it made no sense. Absolute madness.

Blake came back from the bathroom a moment later, catching Yang's eye with a questioning look. The blonde shrugged helplessly. The faunus moved over to sit down next to her, "Yang, what-"

"I don't know Blake. I really don't." Yang cut her off before she could finish the sentence. "But we're about to find out. Aren't we?" She directed the last part at the other half of their team, Jaune still slumped in the chair with Weiss next to him, one hand in his as she whispered something to him.

Finally, Weiss looked back up at the two girls sat on the bed, as did Jaune. A part of Yang's mind laughed at how much of a 'parent/child talk' their current situation looked like. Another part was chomping at the bit for answers.

Jaune looked drunk and exhausted, while Weiss looked worried as she finally spoke up. "I- I don't know if you'll actually listen…" She paused, "So please, please promise that you'll listen to everything Jaune and I say before you ask anything."

Weiss looked from Yang to Blake, as if she honestly expected them to refuse or leave. Yang threw her hands up, "Of course we're gonna listen, Weiss, we _want to help_! For the love of-... Just tell us what's going on!"

Weiss glanced at Jaune, who just shrugged, gaze distant. Yang felt her anger mount as the seconds ticked by, "Magic… exists." Weiss finally said softly, "And things- other things that I don't even know if there's a logical, or even illogical answer to it all, but… Gods, magic, all of it…. It's real."

Yang gripped the end post of the bed, incidentally crushing it in her fist. The sound of wood splintering made her wince.

Weiss looked her dead in the eyes, "Jaune has been fighting to stop the fall of Beacon for a very, very long time. He's lived for…. I'm not sure how long, but long than any of us could imaging. Try to stop the attack and constantly failing." Weiss closed her eyes, "He's died, over and over, resetting to a point in time before the attack happens and watching everyone fight, and die, before he's inevitably killed and is forced to do it all again."

Weiss opened her eyes again, looking at the two sat on the bed. No one said anything.

Yang felt Blake shift next to her, though Yang barely noticed as she tried to wrap her head around what was said. She wanted to say they were crazy.

Blake beat her to it.

"That's insane! Weiss, you're talking about time travel and magic and -"

Yang felt the air in the room _stir_ as Weiss stood up.

A soft breeze washed through the room, carrying a hint of chill like the first notes of winter. The soft scent of fall wafted around them as Weiss took a step away from Jaune, slowly bringing her hands before her.

Color seemed to sharpen for a moment.

The breeze grew stronger.

Yang's jaw dropped open

Pale _fire_ seemed to erupt in and around Weiss' eyes, sweeping back and up. Energy crackled as storm clouds built between Weiss's palms. Wind seemed to buffet her for a moment, whipping her night clothes around like she was caught in a violent storm before they slowed, almost frozen in place.

Before their eyes, Weiss began to slowly raise into the air. Floating a solid foot off the ground before them, her hair slowly roiling behind her as crystal blue eyes glowed with power.

Fear gripped Yang's heart as the sheer _power_ that roiled from her teammate's body was… unbearable.

Floating before them, fire in her eyes, defying them to deny what she'd said, Weiss looked like something from Ruby's comic books. Except she was here. In their room. Staring them in the face.

Even Jaune turned to look a Weiss, an unreadable expression on his face. His eyes watered even more as he ran a hand down his face.

Then, as quickly as it had come, the power vanished. Weiss landed daintily back on the floor, taking a deep breath as she stood before them, her friend, her teammate.

Yang closed her mouth with a click.

"I am the current bearer of the Fall Maiden's power, a power that was created to help humanity fight against the grimm." Weiss said calmly, clasping her hands before her, eyes boring into first Yang's, then Blake's, "A power that has been fought over for centuries. A power that was fought over once again, during the attack last year."

That was important, Yang felt, very important.

Her eyes fell to Jaune, looking at the teen, no…. Not a teen. Something else. He stared off into the distance. Yang wasn't even sure if he was fully aware of what was going on.

 _I-if Weiss is telling the truth, then that means… Oh god._ That meant that he had… She wanted to rush over and hug him as hard as she could, for as long as he needed. She couldn't move though, her muscles refused to respond, her mind reeling at what she'd just been shown.

It broke everything she knew and understood, ripped up the foundations of reality and threw it in her face.

She took a slow breath, trying to calm herself.

"It's over now… No more resets." Jaune broke the silence, looking between them all, "When Weiss… _hic_... brought me back, she ended the cycle. When I die this time, I'm free." A small smile ghosted across his face as a soft chuckle escaped him.

The simply way he spoke of dieing, of leaving them froze her heart.

Weiss rounded on him, rapping a fist against his head. "That's something that won't be happening anytime soon." She said fiercely, a brief flash of her normal temperament showing.

"Yes dear." He said, still grinning, though the look in his eyes was a little less morbid. He turned back to them, "So, _hic..._ I've… known you guys for longer than you'd believe. I've been fighting, killing… Trying to save everyone for a long, long time."

No one spoke for a long, long moment.

Yang didn't know which way was up. What they were saying should be impossible. But...

"Is that why…. you were trying to escape?" The quiet question came from Blake, who was sitting rigidly next to her. Yang saw a flicker of fear cross her partner's face for a moment. The dark haired girl looked like she was ready to bolt if anyone spoke in more than a whisper.

Yang felt panic, cold, cold panic tear though her. He… he'd been trying to escape. Try to get away. _He … he wouldn't have been there to save me and Blake._ He…. No. No, she was _not_ going to start thinking like that. Jaune wouldn't abandon her. He hadn't! He'd stayed.

He'd stayed.

Gods, did that mean he'd known it was going to happen?

Yang wrapped her arms around herself, trying to drive away the dark, hopeless thoughts that were tearing at the corners of her mind. She felt a shoulder bump gently against hers and a slender hand wrap around hers.

It apparently felt worse for Jaune, if the fresh tears that were running down his face were any indication. He wouldn't meet their eyes now, just staring at the floor.

Weiss placed a hand on his shoulder. "Blake, I… I had to try something different, I…" Jaune's voice hic'd again, "I was just so tired, hundreds of years… over and over…. Constantly _hic_ failure…" tears were flowing freely now, "I watched you _hic_ all suffer, dieing... over and over…" His voice trailed off. Very slowly, he looked them in the eyes.

The sheer hopelessness in them. Yang wished he wouldn't look at her like that.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Blake asked, voice tight.

"I… I tried. Gods I tried. No one believed me..."

No one had to question why.

"J-Jaune, swear to me. Swear to me that you're telling the truth." It took a moment for Yang to realize it was her who spoke.

Tired, deep, painfully deep, blue eyes met wide, frightened lilac, "Yang, I swear on everything I can."

"Then…" She didn't want to. She didn't want to believe that anyone could, or would have to, suffer like that. "I believe you."

It was too cruel. If she'd….

Weiss gave a soft sigh and Jaune…. Jaune blinked, then his shoulders sagged, then more tears. Yang could _see_ his body shudder as his shoulders hitched. If the room had not been so silent, she'd have missed the near inaudible 'thank you'.

Weiss turned her gaze to Blake, as did Yang. Jaune just slumped forward, elbows on his knees and his face in his hands.

Blake's ears were pinned back, eyes wide as she stared at Jaune. Yang didn't even want to know what was going through her partner's mind right now.

There were questions, probably hundreds, that she wanted answered. Yang wanted answers too, but she didn't know where to start.

"How- How do… How did you- we.." Blake shook her head, "Did…" She broke off, shaking her head violently, fighting against what they were being told was the truth. "Prove it…"

"I… I can't, Blake. Everything I could say, you've only tried to find another way to disprove it." Jaune slumped forwards, "If I say I knew Yang's mom was a Bandit queen named Raven… You'd accuse me of hacking medical records or learning it from Qrow. If I told you her weapon was a multiple bladed dust katana, you say I must have seen the old school records."

Yang felt her heart bottom out for the upteenth time tonight as Jaune kept talking.

"She is a proud, arrogant bitch of a Bandit, capable of making portals to those she has connections with. And she killed _me_ at least twice. It's why I never went back to Anima."

Blake shook her head, before turning to her. Yang could only nod miserably as she felt herself begin to shake. Blake turned back to Jaune, "J-jaune, how…. No, there has to be some other answer! There has to be-"

Blake may have missed the deeper look in Jaune's eyes, but Yang didn't, and she was suddenly even more afraid of what he was going to say when he opened his mouth.

"Kali used to call you her, 'little shadow ninja kitten'. You'd follow her around the house, trying to be as sneaky as you could."

Blake _bolted_. Or would have, if she hadn't been still holding Yang's hand, which had turned into an iron hard grip over the last few minutes.

She still almost pulled Yang off the bed, "How the _Hell_ do you know that?!" Blake demanded, the curse and shout showed just how far all of their nerves had been stripped. Just how much having their secrets, their own history thrown in their faces hurt.

"You told me." Came the sorrowful response, "in the middle of a Vacuan tavern, drunk off your ass."

"I've never been drinking with you in Vacuo."

A haunted, empty look crossed deep blue eyes as Jaune stared Blake down, "No, not this time."

Blake flinched back and away from him as the weight of those words slammed into her, and this time it was Yang's turn to offer a comforting touch as Blake's legs gave out and she fell back to the bed.

She couldn't take her eyes off Jaune. She could finally place the look in his eyes.

The same, hollow look her Dad had worn - still wore every now and then - when he was remembering a mission that had gone badly. The one that Uncle Qrow constantly hid behind jokes and booze. When they were remembering people they'd lost.

His nightmares, his protectiveness over them…. It made sense, a twisted, cruel, horrifying sense. It was the only thing that _could_ explain everything he'd done, and said, and _Gods..._

Gods he looked so tired.

"I didn't want to tell you guys…" He said rubbing his face as he broke eye contact, "Gave up on that a long time ago….. I-I didn't want to keep hurting you…"

Weiss looked over at him with a sad smile. "Well, we're all listening now, Jaune." She glanced to Yang, "We're here, and we'll help. Actually help."

* * *

Qrow slammed back his another drink, the alcoholic concoction hitting his stomach like a lead weight. It was crazy, right? Insane even. Time travel. _Bullshit._ Immortal wizards and witches that controlled the Grimm. That look in Schnee's eyes had been _way_ to honest.

A thousand years? _Fuck_.

He stalked around his little apartment Beacon offered to their professors, his was now fully stocked with booze.

How much had the kid learned about everything? Did he know about Salem? The relics? Dammit, he felt like an ass thinking like that. Automatically classifying the kid as a threat felt wrong. The ingrained urge to find and tell Ozpin had been subverted at the last minute, a strange question popping into Qrow's head when he'd left the kid's room.

 _The fact that I'm actually considering that the kid was telling the truth worries me less than it probably should._

 _If_ the kid had been going back like that. _If_ he was telling the truth and this _wasn't_ the first time that he'd seen the battle… but this _was_ the first time everyone was alive. That cold feeling settled back in Qrow's stomach again, wiping out the warmth of the alcohol. He wouldn't believe for a moment that the kid _hadn't_ tried to tell everyone at least once. Hell, he'd said he'd tried to tell Qrow before.

So if he'd told Ozpin, and it had failed?

Shit.

That's what this entire thing was.

He paced back and forth across his small kitchenette. The kid had stolen Ruby's scroll. Knew the passcode and what it would take to set Qrow off.

 _He was using me as his clean up crew. Leading me around by the nose for WEEKS! He was manipulating Ice Queen, Ozpin, me._ His thoughts raced as another shot slammed down.

"I am sick. And tired. Of being used by BULLSHIT, _Magical_ mother _FUCKERS!"_ Qrow shouted at the empty room, swinging the almost empty bottle around. The fact that he stumbled and shattered it against the cabinet only threw salt in the wound.

The Docks, the Breach and the Attack. For someone with 'no training', the kid sure came out on top of a lot of fights.

Hell, Qrow had fought him first hand, had actually been pushed hard in what was just a friendly spar. He had _lost_ to a 17 year old kid.

The kid could fly a freaking Bullhead, knew how to disable the flipping fail safe codes, and use the weapons for the Love of the Gods, _How did we miss this shit?!_

Qrow was beginning to feel like his was in a red flag manufacturing plant.

Drawing out a new bottle, he cracked the seal and refilled his glass. Another shot went down and he stormed out of the room. If he was going to get played with again, _he_ was going to be negotiating the terms this time.

* * *

Ozpin sat in his dimly lit office, the glare of the holo screen in front of him as it cast shadows behind him. Glynda was doing better, having taking a few hours to collect herself and process things. She'd told him what Mr Arc had said, how he'd reacted to her - admittedly rash - accusations.

It seemed Mr Arc was… far more experienced than any of them could have guessed.

The question was, how much damage had been done? Could he be recruited? And if not, how much would he be capable of jeopardizing? What was his end goals in this twisted game?

The possibility that Mr Arc _had_ experienced something like the Attack before certainly explained the young man's actions, though they didn't justify his attitude towards Ozpin himself. The question that stood out was: Where and when? That was a disquieting thought in and of itself.

With a sigh and a quick click of the keyboard, he brought up Mr Arc's medical records from before joining Beacon.

It felt like he was grasping at straws at this point, but at this point he was running out of leads.

Standard vaccinations and check ups, minor medical care that fell into the norm for a growing boy. It was the rather abrupt series of doctor visits around the time he turned fourteen that drew Ozpin's attention.

All were fairly routine blood tests and basic psychological evaluations, and every one of them passed it off as puberty and hormones. Something that the old wizard couldn't reasonably call into question.

He pulled up folders he'd created for all of his students and accessed Mr Arc's.

The maps from the tracking device, the video surveillance from the forest, the medical records after his continuous fights with criminals…. Ozpin paused. Fight's that Mr Arc had almost exclusively sought out. A slow breath escaped the Headmaster as something finally clicked for him.

Mr Arc had _not_ simply been in the right place at the right time.

Ozpin absently clicked on the video of a blue rocket locker and a smiling young man. He'd watched the video a handful of times, something never quite sitting right as he watched a Hunter in Training, with no official training _cut_ through a large pack of Beowolves. No. Slaughter was a more fitting word.

Ozpin's jaw tightened as he watched the video once more with a new perspective.

It took a few moments before he realised exactly why the video bothered him. He wasn't watching a student cut down a few grimm, nor even a seasoned Hunter. He was watching someone who was _far_ older. Who never had to question something that came as naturally as walking. There were no wasted moves, no second guessing in the actions. No hesitation as to where to step or swing next, no trace of worry that the opponents might be any threat whatsoever.

There was experience in the movements. Experience that could not be taught or learned even within a decade of training.

And the smile on Mr Arc's face.

Ozpin rubbed his eyes, there were too many questions, as always, and far to few answers. On top of everything else, there was still the matter of his summonings to the Council in two days.

There were too many people demanding answers from him that he couldn't answer. Not truthfully at least. They wouldn't accept it, and he'd seen how the people had reacted before. He wasn't prepared to lose everything he'd worked for up to this point.

Closing out the of the video, the old man pulled up his prepared speech for the counsel on Saturday. Mr Arc would have to wait for now.

* * *

Weiss felt a mixture of relief and trepidation as she stood opposite Yang and Blake, with Jaune sat slumped in the chair. She'd have said something about his posture, but after everything that had been said so far, and the sheer emotional drain Jaune was showing, she wasn't about to say anything.

She sighed, bringing one hand up to massage the bridge of her nose.

On the upside of the disaster of a night, it looked like Yang and Blake were at least willing to believe them for now. Even if out of pure terror only.

Speaking of the duo, neither of them had said anything for the past couple of minutes, probably trying to rationalize everything they'd been told and shown. Much like Weiss had when Jaune had told her. They were probably trying to work through the panic, the bottomless pit in their stomachs, the icy, unrelenting fear that came with the knowledge she and Jaune were sharing with them.

A small, mirthless grin threatened to break across her face as she realized she'd used a page from Jaune's book to get the point across.

Shock and Awe.

Even if it wasn't working quite as well.

They were both terrified.

"S-so…" Yang broke off her sentence, chest rising and falling rapidly, her brows drawing down, "What happened last time? Why.. why did it fail...How did we… you… die." She finished the sentence quietly, though everyone heard it.

Jaune blinked, then grimaced and looked away. Weiss spoke up, "Yang, that's not-"

"It's fine." Jaune cut her off, his hands clenched for a moment. Weiss pulled one of his hands into her own and gave him a gentle squeeze. Jaune drew a deep breath.

"Cinder attacked, as always… I did my best to derail her plans, got a warning off to Ozpin about the Breach… Torchwick survived though… and CCT before she could get full control and tip Ironwood off, not that it really helped." He sighed, "I hacked Amity, then shut down one of the engines, forced it to land. Cinder used that to her advantage though…."

Jaune paused, closing his eyes and stared at the floor. Weiss knew what was coming next and gave his hand another comforting squeeze. "Pyrrha died on the Tower… Cinder murdered her." Jaune swallowed hard, "There was never, ever, _ever_ anything I could do about that…. It would have been Weiss, this time… If you two hadn't saved her."

Weiss watched the wide eyed other half of their team, who were barely holding themselves together, who'd both stood over the body of Cinder Fall on that very tower. They were working though the shock now.

It was one of the things she wished she could forget herself; _knowing_ she was marching to her death, and that no one was coming to save her. One thing she would remember forever was the beautiful faces of her friends, her 'daughters', charging in against a Maiden to save her life.

"I drove Adam out of the fight," Jaune continued, "by leveling the cafeteria with demolition charges, kept him away from you two." He said, looking at the Blonde and Raven haired girls, "he didn't have a chance to hurt you."

"We cut out for Vacuo, before Cinder…. She ambushed us… Adam and the White Fang shot down our bullheads. She must have known where we were headed…."

Blake took a shaky breath, her hands trembling. "Did we all…" She trailed off, clearly not wanting to finish that thought.

"I'm sorry... Yang." Jaune shook his head, refusing to meet her eyes and Weiss rubbed a small pattern on the palm of his hand. She could feel him calm down a little, "Yang, you saved Qrow's life… but took a piece of shrapnel."

It was Yang's turn to have trouble breathing. "What… what about Ruby?"

Silence ruled the room.

"Jaune?" Yang almost whimpered his name.

When Jaune finally looked up, Weiss could _see_ his despair, could almost feel it rolling off him in waves, even if his voice was even. "Cinder killed her… right before she burned me to death."

Weiss tightened her hold for a moment and she felt him lean into it. Looking up, she saw Yang turn deathly pale, the blonde's mouth opening and closing several times. Blake slowly squeeze her partner's hand, doing as much for Yang as Weiss was doing for Jaune.

Weiss didn't want to know what Yang was thinking, didn't want to relive her own panic attacks when she'd first learned the truth.

"H-h…" Yang stood up quickly, breaking Blake's hold. "E-excuse me." She said as she stood and left the room. Weiss leaned over to watch through the open doorway as Yang knocked on RRNN's door. A moment later, a chipper Ruby opened it, only to be drawn into a desperate, bone crushing hug from her sister.

Ruby's mood went from her normal, happy attitude to worry and concern in an instant. "Yang! What's going on? Are you ok? Talk to me?!" Fear and worry thick in her voice as she patted Yang's back, trying to calm the blonde brawler down, all as Weiss watched her shoulders heaving.

"It's… it's fine…. Just…" Yang pulled Ruby back to arms length for a moment and just looked at her before hugging her again.

The rest of Ruby's team appeared a moment later, crowding around the sisters, but not interrupting them.

Pyrrha broke off first and hurried into JWBY's room, emerald green eyes filled with a worried look, "Weiss? What's going on, are you all okay?"

The crushing atmosphere in the room must have been apparent, because Pyrrha immediately quieted.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha gasped as her eyes fell to the shirtless teen. The sound drew everyone else's attention to the redhead, who was now standing with one hand over her mouth.

Ren stiffened, before gently guiding Yang, who was still holding on to Ruby, back into the room before Nora, very gently closed the door behind them.

Jaune let out a sigh and climbed to his feet, swaying once before making his way over to half sit, half collapse onto Weiss' bed.

Ren and Nora both stopped dead in their tracks and stared at Jaune as well. It wasn't until Ruby drew a sharp breath, having finally been able to turn around in Yang's arms, that Weiss realized what they were looking at. She closed her eyes and let her head bow down for a moment before she stood and moved over next to him.

None of RRNN had seen Jaune without his shirt. They'd heard about the scars, but they'd never seen them.

Jaune figured it out as well, for he moved one arm across his stomach, for all the good it did.

"All right…. alright... Fine. Everyone might as well know too." He muttered under his breath. Drunk as he was, he took a steading breath, sealing up some of the raw emotion he'd shown not ten minutes before. He ran a hand over his eyes to wipe away the tear tracks.

No one said anything for fear of breaking the silent spell. Instead, the teens moved to find available seats.

Moments later, everyone was settled; Blake, Yang, Ruby, and Pyrrha taking up Jaune's bed while Ren quietly scooted the chair over next to them and Nora stood behind him.

Weiss waited patiently for him to be ready, knowing she was going to have to help convince Ruby and the others, and gave him a small smile of support. Jaune let a small laugh and opened his mouth to speak.

Right as the door kicked open again and Mr Branwen stumbled in, a bottle in hand and much drunker than he'd been when he left. "Ok, wonder boy." The grizzled hunter slurred, "I want some answers."

Everyone stared as the sister's Uncle stumbled across the room, forcing Pyrrha to move from next to the window and squeeze closer to Ruby. Those who'd not been present for the first round of world shattering truth were busy glancing between those who had been. Jaune groaned and put his head in his hands. Weiss let her shoulder bump up against his, "It'll be ok. I promise."

"D-did something happen?" Ruby asked nervously and softly, her voice drawing a flinch from Jaune. "And why is Uncle Qrow here? What's going on?"

Weiss sighed and looked and the little red reaper. "No, Ruby. It's just that, some truths have finally been brought to light, and they're not exactly nice."

"Everyone buckle in for the craziest shit you've ever heard." The older man growled, taking a deep drink from his bottle, "And keep your questions till the end, cause I need answers first."

Ruby's face contorted in confusion, but Qrow shook his head in her direction, "Let's hear the kid out before we ask any more, squirt." With that, he turned back to Jaune and held out the bottle, "You ready to tell us, kid?"

Jaune took the liquor and stared at it for a moment before throwing it back.

"Fine."

* * *

Silver eyes stared out the window as the first rays of morning sun broke over the distant horizon. While she had never been much of a morning person - at least before her morning shower - Ruby could at least appreciate the beauty of it.

It really was really pretty.

The way the horizon slowly shifted from pitch black to light grey, the first hinting of the coming dawn, before the grey gave way to light pink with hues of blue, as the sun's first light filtered through the hazy mountain clouds.

Not long after that, a bird began to sing, quickly joined by others in a disjointed symphony. As the sun slowly rose higher, driving away the twilight stars with its edge, breaking over the mountain range to reveal the dark green valleys and gently rolling forests down below.

It looked so peaceful.

Ruby watched with a strange, disconnected feeling. She could describe it, if someone asked, but she felt she was missing something… something important. Her tired mind wished she could feel something other than the numbing cold that ran through her.

Slowly disentangling herself from the mess of blonde hair that had passed out on her shoulder, she offered a soft smile to her sister. Yang was snoring softly on the bed next to several other slumbering figures. Her face was far cry more peaceful from the one she wore a few hours before. Gone were the tears that had built up, threatening to spill down her cheeks, the fearful look in her eyes and the desperate way she held only Ruby.

Now she was lost in a peaceful dream, free from the scary and hopeless fight they had learned of last night.

Being extra careful not to wake anyone, she made her way over to the door to JWBY's room and slipped outside. She wasn't exactly sure where she was going, but her feet carried her passed the dorm rooms, through the halls and up a set of stairs.

She cracked the access door open, taking in the full light of the morning sun. It was breathtaking. Sunshine washed through the mountain valleys, glimmering off snow capped peaks, washing through the clean forest air and lighting the world with the promise of another day.

It was beautiful. A new morning, another chance.

 _Heh_. That sounded familiar.

It was a total non surprise to find that she wasn't the only one who'd opted for a morning walk. Her eyes landed on the figure already sat on the edge of the roof. Padding over, she sat down next to him as she kicked her legs out, letting them swing back and forth over the edge of the roof.

"So. Time travel, huh?" She said, humming slightly as the words drifted between the two souls witnessing a new dawn.

"Yup."

"You must have picked up a lot of cool fighting tricks along the way."

"I did beat Qrow."

"Can you teach me?" Ruby asked, adding a little bit of hopeful inflection to her words.

Silence drifted between them.

"Pff." Jaune said, trying to hide the chuckle. He held a straight face for all of five seconds. "You are such a dork." He said, giving her a shoulder bump as he laughed to himself.

"If you've really known me for so long, did you really expect anything else?" She shot back, smiling as they watched the dawning day, as she sat next to her very first friend of Beacon.

A warm feeling crept through her, he was her first friend in Beacon, and she was _his_ very first friend.

Jaune let out a long breath. It wasn't a sigh exactly, not really. She could tell. A small grin spread across her face as Ruby kept her gaze on the horizon. "So, I'm guessing you've got all sorts of super secret team leader tricks and moves that you're gonna teach me?"

Again, he tried - and failed - to hide a laugh, "I'll teach you, but you're gonna have to learn it the hard way." He said, leaning back on his hands as he watched the morning sun.

The feeling spread as the rays of sun began warming them as it drove off the chill of the night.

Ruby smiled, finally glancing over. Jaune was wearing his white coat, but still hadn't put a shirt on, and that left his bare chest and scars on display. The shock of them had finally worn off, though the guilt of staring at them the first time still lingered.

She couldn't imaging how much they must have hurt, but that didn't matter. Not now, and never again.

He'd _earned_ them, and earned the life he now had.

Jaune was, hands down and no holds barred, the single strongest person she'd ever met. Ever had the privilege of meeting. She made a mental note to get his autograph at some point.

There was still a question that burned in the front of her mind. One that had been sitting there since she chose to believe him. Not that any of them really had a choice _not to_ , what with Weiss being a magical girl, and the little things that Jaune had said, and the fact that Qrow said he believed, and Yang and Blake believed.

She was distracting herself again.

"So…" Ruby let her words trail off as she looked back over the school. It was a question she needed the answer to, if only to put it to rest. She let her trepidation pass, "What am I normally like? The other 'me's?"

Jaune turned his head, a confused look on his face. "The other 'you's?"

"Yea… what was I like before?"

He didn't answer right away, and she held her breath as she waited.

A hard sigh, followed by another long pause was her only answer for a few moments. "You. Are you, Rubes." He said, using Yang's nickname for her, "You're my friend, my first friend in Beacon. You're courageous, always looking out for me." His eyes look out over the Forever Falls, to the distant Emerald Forest. "There has never, ever been a time you've let me down. You've saved my life countless times, beat sense into me even more when I was being stupid… I don't think there has been one single time you have ever disappointed me."

"But I did." It hurt to say, but she knew she had. Maybe not before, but this time. This time she had failed him. Maybe not in a traditional way, but in that she hadn't believed him last year. What kind of a friend did that? If she had just listened a little more. If she hadn't made assumptions, maybe she wouldn't have-

"Eep!"

Something flicked off her nose made her flinch away.

Ruby turned and leveled an evil eye at her friend, who was laughing softly. "What was that for?" She demanded, noticing another piece of rubble in his hand. He wouldn't get her with the same trick twice!

"You were being negative about yourself."

"I was not!"

"Yes you were."

"Is that your time travel knowledge?" She asked, giggling as he dramatically rolled his eyes. And just like that, the tension in her mind fled.

"Yes. Because only a time traveler could pick up on that." He shot back.

"Very funny, Jaune."

"I thought it was."

A comfortable silence stretched between them as they turned back towards the sunrise. It was a relief after last night. The hopeless, sorrowful words that had laid out a twisted reality.

There had been no threats. No anger or promise of violence, but last night had shaken everyone to their core. Ruby's mood took a nosedive as she remembered the feeling of _loss_ and hopelessness that had underscored Jaune's explanation for everything he had done. Everything he had been through.

"It is shocking to see either of you awake at this hour." A new voice, crisp and sarcastic cut through her thoughts.

"Weiss!" Ruby cheered as she whipped around to see the new addition to the rooftop-sunrise-witnesses.

"Hey." Jaune's recognition to his partner's appearance was far less enthusiastic, but just as heartfelt. Ruby noticed a small smile, one that reached his eyes, spread across his face.

"It figures you two would be out here." Weiss said, rolling her eyes as she walked to the edge and sat down on Jaune's other side, her expression softening as she looked at her fiance.

"The morning everyone else is passed out in our room, you are both wide awake and enjoying the day."

"Well if you'd-"

Jaune's sentence was cut of via a raised eyebrow, forcing Ruby to try - and fail - to hide her snickering, "If you'd invite us out to see such a beautiful sight more often?" Jaune tried to amend, only making her giggle more.

"Then perhaps I shall wake you for a morning yoga session from now on." Weiss mock threatened, "Say, five in the morning every day?"

Jaune blanched, "I would get too used to it and not enjoy the view as much?"

Weiss sniffed imperiously, "I suppose I should not spoil your wonderment."

Ruby felt something even warmer than the morning sun blossom in her chest. She watched with a fond smile spread across her face as she watched Weiss lean into Jaune's shoulder, and Jaune took her small hand in his much larger one.

Ruby wished she had her scroll with her.

"How are you taking it?" Weiss asked her, leaning around Jaune to look at her.

Ruby took a moment to consider the question, looking back out at the rising sun. "Ok, I guess? It's… weird to think about. But it does make sense."

"Me getting sent back in time over and over makes sense? Jaune asked, raising an eyebrow.

"W-well, no. I meant, it would explain a few things." Ruby felt a bit of sadness creep back into her chest. "The way you act around us, how you tried to push us away from you… you were trying to protect us."

The sadness grew a little as she thought about it more, "I… I don't know how you managed it. I would have been useless if it had happened to me." She tried for a moment to imaging having to watch her friends die, then wake up and see them all again, only to know that they'd all be gone again.

Another piece of rubble bounced off her nose. _Dammit_!

"Don't think about it." Jaune said, "It turned out okay." He rubbed his thumb against Weiss's hand, the ex-heiress giving him a small squeeze as she smiled at him.

Ruby smiled too. It felt good to do that, after everything that had happened in the last few months, honest happiness was something of a rare thing. "So what are you going to do today?" She asked, trying to dispel her earlier mood.

Jaune shrugged, "Probably sleep. Get Qrow to call in for us and tell Glynda we had a long night."

"I had planned for a training session today," Weiss added, "but giving the circumstances, I believe everyone deserves some time to come to terms with things." Shifting a little to pull her legs up and sit sideways, leaning into Jaune, who wrapped his arm around the smaller girl.

"Yea, that'd be nice." Ruby agreed.

The sound of footsteps said someone else was joining them. Multiple someones.

"You guys look cute." Yang said as she took a sat down next to Ruby.

"They do, don't they?" Blake added, a smill smile playing on her lips, "And that ring looks really pretty." Dark haired girl sat down next Weiss, while Yang sat next to Ruby. Nora and Ren sat next to Yang as Pyrrha took the spot next to them. Ruby smiled at the new additions, noticing just how tired they looked, but their smiles were honest as they looked between everyone else.

"Hey, Jaune?" Nora asked, leaning out a little.

"Yes, Nora?"

"Thank you."

Jaune looked over at his past teammate, confusion written across his face. "For what?"

"For saving us, dummy. If you hadn't done what you did, all drama aside, we wouldn't be here right now." Nora beamed a bright smile at him, "We'd be off somewhere in Mistral or Vacuo and sleeping on the ground right now."

"What she means to say is, thank you for keeping us safe." Ren clarified, setting a hand on his childhood friends shoulder.

Ruby watched Jaune's smile dim a little, his gaze wandering off a little. "It's the least I could do." He said, "You guys are my family. All of you."

Weiss reached up and touched his chin, pulling his face down, "And you are ours. So don't muck it up this time." She teased.

"Alright, alright, I'll do my best."

"Eeeww. Is mom and dad going to make kissy?" Yang said teasingly. "Awe, kissy kissy." She added a sound effect to her voice that had Ruby trying - and failing, again - to hide her laughter as Jaune and Weiss gave Yang a synchronized glance before rolling their eyes.

Jaune leaned in to give his partner a kiss on the lips.

Ruby cheered with the others, it was an honest one, something that they could all get behind after the emotional whirlwind of last night. Right now, she'd take whatever happiness she get right now.

There were questions. LOTS and lots of questions, but right now, they were happy. They were together, and they were a family.

The bright morning sun shone down on the time traveler, the Maiden, the brawler, the ex-terrorist, the Champion, the green ninja, the hyper bomber, and the girl with the silver eyes. It was the start of a new day.

Ruby couldn't be happier.

* * *

Qrow leaned against the stairwell entrance, watching with a distant eye. His mind slowly putting together the pieces, finding patterns, drawing conclusions of what had happened. He took a drink from his flask before placing it back in his pocket.

 _They're taking it pretty well,_ he thought, _Better than we did when our world was turned upside down_. The bitter memories of the fights, the yelling, and the hurt feelings were pushed aside. There were sure to be some of that here, but they'd be better then his team. He hoped they would be.

There was sure to be some conflict in the coming months, Qrow almost pitied the kid, for all the questions he'd have to answer and reasons he'd have to give. But that was for another time.

Qrow turned away and headed back down stairs, there was still work to be done.

* * *

 **Whew. Well now, I hope you're all happy. Just FYI, I skipped the big, final reveal with RRNN for a REASON. I am not omitting it, and it didn't NOT happen. It did. And the consequences of what Jaune told them and DIDN'T tell them are going to come out.**

 **I felt I packed in enough emotions here that adding FOUR more sets would rob all of them of their importance.**

 **I went with the 'happy family ending' here because it fit the scene. Everyone is grasping for something that feels normal, and the thought of 'it's over, we can ignore it' is a pretty tempting thing. So that is where this chapter is ending. Qrow mentions the coming conflicts, because he's had something very similar happen to his team, and it shattered them.**

 **It's one of the things about RWBY that can be hard. There are SO MANY personalities that we love. So with big things like this? It can be hard to make them feel important. There WILL be consequences. (Come heaven or hell). That's a promise. XD**

 **Yup. We are just getting started. I hope this is at least somewhat satisfactory, because I know everyone has been waiting YEARS for this.**

 **Next chapter will probably be mid to late January.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Ok, so someone needs to remind me** _ **not**_ **to tempt Fate by saying things like, 'the next chapter should be out (insert rough date)'.**

 **So, long story short, computer died. Was working 6 days a week. Closest repair place that could fix it was 3+ hours away. Finally got it fixed. Got relocated for work 3 states away.**

 **Fooph.**

 **It was pretty rough. Can't really beta… well, future writing. XD**

 **At least I'm still kicking.**

 **Wait…**

 **Life does that.**

Chapter 12

Fallout

Cover Art: KegiSpringfield

BETA: ErenJaeger17

* * *

Qrow stalked down the halls of Beacon, the bright morning light shining in his eyes only proved to drive his already crappy mood lower. Not much of a surprise, really. Qrow hated mornings, save for the occasional ones where he was sharing someone's bed. Those were good mornings.

This wasn't one of those mornings.

For one thing, his flask had run empty hours ago and he hadn't been willing to miss any of the the Kid's insane story by going for a refill. The bottle he'd brought last night had met a similar fate. The Kid sure could hold his liquor, not that he was surprised.

He was distracting himself.

Qrow shuttered.

Repeating life through death.

A millennia of war.

If there had been a single grain of truth to the tale, then there was something far, far darker working in the world. Darker than the truths he was already privy to. What kind of… twisted god would damn someone to that? What kind of miserable, deranged individual deserved that kind of fate?

Stopping at a vending machine tucked into an alcove, Qrow bought himself a few more seconds as he fed a few lien into machine. It was a rare time when Qrow bought _water_ , but this was one of those times.

The memory of the Kid throwing himself into the rolling, black ocean that night on the warehouse roof truck Qrow like a truck. The son-of-a-bitch thought being captured a larger inconvenience than _drowning_.

Punching in the number, he waited, as the machine slowly brought his selected drink forward, watched as it slowly tipped over the edge.

And promptly jammed against the glass, halfway down.

 _Sigh_

"… _._ Really? After everything so far?" Qrow felt compelled to ask his semblance. With a growl, he tapped the glass. When that failed, he tried shaking the blasted machine. He didn't have time for this, he really didn't, but that was no reason to just give up his hard earned lien to some blasted, overpriced, piece of rusted junk….

* * *

Qrow finally made it to his destination, with all the vigor of a death row inmate. Downing the last of his water bottle, he tossed in the nearby receptacle - a potted bush - and lightly rapped his knuckles against the wooden barrier.

There was a muttered 'come in' from the other side, making him wince as he nudged it open and poked his head in. "Uhh, Glynda?" He asked, glancing around the office.

"What could you possibly want at this hour, Qrow?" Glynda asked, glaring over the rims of her glasses before returning to her work.

Taking that as permission to enter, he slipped in and shut the door behind him. "Just wanted to give you a heads up that… uh, well…"

"Just spit it out, Qrow." Glynda snapped, "I have far more important things to worry over than whatever mess you've managed to get yourself into."

Qrow coughed, and tried to look anywhere other than at the angry blonde in the room. "Well, ya see, uhh, the Kid and his team… and RRNN are… uh, gonna need to take today off. And the weekend. Probably."

The sound of paper tearing illustrated just how quiet the office had become. Qrow did his level best to memorize every detail of every inch of the office save for a ten foot area directly in front of him.

Was this the first time Qrow had stood in this exact place, giving his ex-teacher/colleague bad news that could probably been avoided with a few more seconds of thought involved?

No.

Was it the first time he had stumbled around his words because his whole world had been turned inside out and he'd done something stupid in reaction?

Unfortunately, no.

"Perhaps that is for the best, I shall let Ozpin know."

Was it the first time that the strictest teacher in the Kingdom's didn't suspend him upside down and give him the 3rd degree?

Yes. Actually.

On any other day, Qrow would would have drawn his scythe and attacked the obvious impostor. At least any other day that he wasn't trying to rack his mind for every single fairy tale and legend about time travel and the God's meddling in human affairs.

As it was, he simply took the gift horse and retreated quickly as he could. Abduction and brainwashing theories could wait their damn turn to use him as a punching bag.

* * *

After much thought and deliberation, and a quick stop at his room, Qrow found himself atop one of Beacon's spire towers. The uncapped flask sitting next to him as he stared out over the campus.

Slowly, he picked up and ran his hand over the container, running his thumb over the worn leather casing and trying to repress the unwanted memories. Clenching his other hand hard enough to draw blood from his palm, he slowly placed the memento down and returned to his current problem.

" _I-I-I tried everything I could think of…. Hacked Amity… White Fang burned down half of Vale… Stuck a knife through her throat… Sustria took over….. Bombed their room… Adam took over and… and…."_

Qrow knew how it felt to lose someone. To be told that there was nothing anyone could do while knowing that was a god damned lie. He'd buried enough friends and family to drive that point home a dozen times over.

If he had the chance to save them? What would he give to bring them back.

"Don't be stupid Qrow, what's in the past is in the past… Damn Gods." He muttered to himself as he ran a hand down his face.

It was one thing to lose a loved one, have time to grieve and heal, then move on with your life. When the time came, Qrow would carry his regrets to his to his grave. Hopefully knowing he had done _something_ worthwhile in his life, and find peace somewhere else.

" _I thought if I could convince someone else… maybe… maybe it would make a difference… no one listened and… I realized I was… alone…"_

For him, death was the end of the game.

Maybe.

Then again, he'd already lived this day before, hadn't he?

He shook head, no use thinking like that. There were bigger things to worry about right now. For one thing, figuring out how much the Kid knew was now his top priority. While getting the Kid shit faced was great for getting the truth out of him, deconstructing drunk rambling into actual information always proved difficult.

Maybe now that he'd had a good cry over it, the Kid would be a little more open around him. And little miss ice princess. She'd been giving a very brief, very watered down explanation as to biggest threats, but she had no idea just how big it all was.

Did the Kid know about Salem? Qrow wasn't sure. Given his apparent fixation on Cinder and the Attack, it seemed likely that he'd have heard the name slip at some point, or at least know she wasn't working alone.

If that was the case, and he _did_ know, he could be one hell of an asset for Oz and his little posse.

" _I tried to tell you Qrow… tried to warn you over and over… you never listened…. No one listened…"_

Then again, if he _didn't_ know, having that kind of news dropped on him might set him off. The little shit had straight up said he'd hacked into _Amity_ of all places. Plus he knew how to fly a bullhead, _and_ knew a good amount about explosives, _and_ was apparently damn near an expert in subterfuge and guerrilla warfare, _and_ was one of the most unpredictable fighters Qrow had ever faced….

Qrow sucked in a breath and once again picked up his flask, only to pause before actually taking a drink.

"Shit."

Qrow put the cap back on the flask and stowed it before taking wing.

* * *

Pyrrha Nikos regarded herself as a composed and calm individual. It had served her well in her rise to the title of Champion, 'The Invincible Girl', though she had never allowed the fame to go to her head. Through rigorous training, both mental and physical, Pyrrha knew she was able to keep her emotions hidden to all but those closest to her.

Closing her guard, she caught a high strike on her shield. Training bots offered little challenge, but served as a welcome distraction.

With a brief push, she deflected the strike to her side before driving the point of her sword into the side of the bot's head, making swift work of the opening she had created. Her strike carried enough force to take the cylindrical head clean off and toppling the bot.

" _I'm sorry…. I-I couldn't save you… I could never be…. I was never strong enough…"_

Launching herself forwards, she bought a moment's reprieve from an overhand strike that would have left a nasty bruise if it had connected. The second training bot, having moved to her blind side as she dealt with the first, wasted no time in pursuing her.

She let a weak growl slip out, she wasn't focused. If she'd been in control, her opponent would never have been allowed to slip up on her like that.

She'd been given a gift. A semblance that made her nigh unstoppable against any opponent save the strongest. Those older Huntsmen that had been forged by years of life or death fighting. The Grimm that had grown old in a world where their kind might be slaughtered in droves. The few opponents who had faced death, survived, and _learned_.

" _It never mattered… never mattered what I-I did or... how many time I died… You gave your life eve- every time…."_

She was untouchable. Almost. The bot caught her on the wrist. Pain lanced through her arm as she lashed out with her shield, tossing the mettle and wiring away from her. Her mind briefly cleared by the stinging in her hand as she fell back into a defencive stance.

" _I-I could n-never accept it… how… how could I? I had to save you… save my partner…. Somehow… You were always so strong… You always smiled at me and told me y-you believed in me…."_

Jaune was drunk, he must have been thinking of something else. Someone else. Someone he lost when he was younger. It would explain everything.

He had pushed her harder than anyone else ever had. He fought with an effortless grace. He didn't _act_ comfortable with his weapon. He _was_ comfortable with them. He was comfortable in using them. He was far too comfortable with them for someone of his age.

He was too comfortable with _her_ _style_.

" _I.. I can never f-f-forgive myself for failing y-you all… so many times…. I'm so sorry. You trained me endlessly… gave your all to push me to new heights and… and I failed you every time."_

Pyrrha screwed her eyes shut as she tried to purge her memory of the _agony_ that twisted her friends face. She could still hear the movement of the training bot as it bore down on her. The tickle of her semblance told her the machine was not slowing it's advance.

Her mind recalled all the times he'd looked at her and… looked away with strange look on his face. He acted like he knew everything about everyone. As if he'd know them his entire life.

He… he looked so tired. More so last night than ever before. The few times he had spoken coherently, he sound so exhausted of… of life.

Brushing the memories aside while keeping her eyes closed, she raised her shield to deflect the blow. She remained braced for several seconds as the realisation struck her heart. He looked at her with recognition and sorrow.

Sorrow.

Sorrow at the fact he failed to save her.

Sorrow in the knowledge of what would come to pass.

Icy, ragged fear clawed at her heart. Her breathing became shallow gasps as the implications, the words Jaune had spoken, finally settled into her mind.

She felt something slide down her cheek as she cowered beneath her shield. The Invincible Girl awaited the blow that had yet to come.

Finally she felt something slam into her.

It wasn't the metal pole arm the training bots wielded. It hadn't come from above. Instead, the weight came from the side. Instead of cold steel, warm arms wrapped around her shoulders as short-cropped, ebony hair tickled her cheek.

Pyrrha opened her eyes, vision blurred as her sword and shield clattered to the floor. Her weapons forgotten as she clung to her partner as she tried to reign in her emotions.

"It's ok, Pyrrha. It's ok." Ruby chanted, voice soft as the smaller girl held the Champion in her arms, rocking softly back and forth.

"I-I should be dead…" Pyrrha whispered hoarsely, "It should have been me, not Weiss… I was supposed to be the one to face that woman and, and… die"

She broke off as her jaw clenched tightly, eyes screwed shut against the terror that was ringing in her mind.

"That's not what happened. It's never going to happen, I promise." Ruby said, holding her friend and partner closer.

Slowly, Pyrrha felt her heart rate slowing down. Her hands slowly stopped shaking and her breathing evened out. "How can you be sure?"

Ruby pulled back a little and looked her straight in the eyes. The seriousness in her silver gaze left Pyrrha reeling.

"Because that _bitch_ is dead."

Pyrrha started, so shocked at the idea of Ruby, innocent, socially awkward, weapon nut Ruby not only swearing, but doing so in such a _vehement_ tone. If the Red Reaper could weaponize the venom she put into that word, the Grimm dragon would have keeled over on the spot.

That or they were about to be swamped by every Grimm for ten miles being drawn to the hatred that was pouring from the little girl in front of her.

Maybe it was the insanity of the last 24 hours finally breaking her mind, but Pyrrha couldn't stop the shocked laugh that burst out of her. The realization that she probably shouldn't laugh in this situation caught up a moment later, and she slapped a hand over her mouth in mortification.

It did nothing to stop her laughing anyways.

Pyrrha gauffed, then giggled, then let loose a peal of laughter that echoed in the quiet training room. Her entire body trembled as she once again found it difficult to breathe. Ruby yelped in surprise as Pyrrha fell over backwards, laughing so hard her sides began to ache and tears streamed down her face.

Finally, she ran out of breath. Only just managing to gain control over herself, Pyrrha laid sprawled out on the training room floor with Ruby looking at her with a concerned - and slightly confused - expression at the now exhausted Champion.

"Uhh, are you ok?" Ruby asked.

Taking a deep breath, Pyrrha held it as she counted to ten before she released it. Teary, emerald green eyes met soft silver as she composed herself.

Biting down on her own tongue to keep herself from fall into another fit of laughter, Pyrrha sat up, wiping away her tears as she felt a smile break across her face.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked. Pyrrha stared at her for a moment, wondering how Ruby had managed to look so menacing a moment ago when she looked so concerned and worried now.

"I… I think so," She said, "I just needed a good laugh, that's all."

"You didn't look okay. You were just hiding there."

Pyrrha swallowed. Glancing at the now inactive bot, standing with it's weapon held by its side. Perhaps sparring while distracted was a poor idea. "I… I was just thinking about last night." She said quietly.

"Yea, me too." Ruby said with a nod, sitting down opposite her. "Jaune really needs our help right now."

"You believe him, don't you."

Ruby looked at her in confusion, as if asking how she couldn't.

"I just mean…" Pyrrha trailed off, "I don't know _why_ he'd lie about something like that, but it just… it hurts to think about. It's hard to accept what he said."

Ruby shrugged, "Like you said, why would he lie? He definitely didn't sound like he was lying."

Pyrrha opened her mouth, then closed it, face pinched. "Does it bother you that we… I guess, weren't supposed to be partners?"

"I mean, no?" Ruby cocked her head to the side as she thought about it, "I don't remember having anyone other then you as my partner. So it feels weird to me that it _should_ be anyone else."

"You don't believe in Destiny?" Pyrrha asked, her eyebrows drawing down as she looked at her partner.

"Nope."

"Nope?"

"Nope!" Ruby said again, "I've always felt that 'destiny' is what you make it. Why sit around waiting for something to fall into your lap? Things only happen because we _make_ them happen."

Pyrrha was struck silent. While she certainly believed in working hard to achieve her goals, she still felt there was always _something_ guiding her path.

And apparently, at least according to Weiss and Jaune, there had been something.

"W-what about the attack? What about Jaune saying I was supposed to die?" She had to ask.

Ruby's expression darkened again, "I do believe Jaune, but he spent hundreds and _hundreds_ of years trying to stop it, and I'm not willing to stand by and lose another person I care about."

"Besides," She continued, smile blooming across her face, "Jaune got to have you for a partner for a long time. It's my turn now!"

Pyrrha warmth blossom in her chest as she reached forward and pulled her partner into a hug. For someone so young, there were times where Ruby was undoubtedly wiser than any of them.

* * *

"He lying! He has to be!"

"Blake, settle down. Now."

"NO! How can you be so calm about this!?"

Yang felt her eyes flash red, anger burning hot under her skin. She wanted to _throttle_ her partner. "RHAA! You think I'm calm!?" She shouted back, lashing out with one fist, shattering large chunk from a nearby tree.

Blake flinched at the sound of cracking wood, but refused to back down. "Well you sure aren't trying to do anything about it!" The Faunus girl growled.

"AND WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO BE DOING?!" Yang roared as she stalked forwards, eyes glaring a hole into her partner. "You think I don't want answers? That I don't want to know _exactly_ what the _fuck_ he was talking about?! I'm in the same damned boat as you!"

Blake's face twisted into a angry scowl, her bow flattened on her head. Golden eyes met angry red with only inches between them.

"I. Don't. Know." She hissed, knuckles white as she balled up her fists.

Yang felt her last nerve snap. "So," the words were growled out between grit teeth, "Just like the Docks?"

She knew it was a mistake.

She knew it in an instance.

She saw it in the way Blake's eyes widened marginally. She heard it in the quiet gasp. She felt it in the sudden pain that blossomed across her cheek as she found she herself looking not at her partner, but the grassy ground.

Silence echoed.

Yang felt her anger fetter out and the red fade from her irises. Regret flooded her as she took a step back, still looking at the ground. "I'm sorry…" She whispered softly as sting in her cheek began to fade. "I didn't mean it…"

Quick, stilted breathing was the only reply.

Anger gone, Yang collapsed to the ground in a sitting position, a tired ache settling into her bones as she put her face into her hands. She'd gotten maybe two hours of sleep last night, max. That bit of sleep was worth little against what had happened.

"I'm sorry too…I don't want to fight..." Blake finally whispered. With a sigh, she sat down behind Yang, leaning against the brawler's back. "Neither of us are thinking straight right now… not enough sleep…"

Minutes of silence crawled by.

Yang suddenly gave a halfhearted chuckle, causing Blake's ears to twitch as the blonde muttered something under her breath.

"Yang?"

"It makes so much sense."

"What does?"

Yang looked up, a bitter grin on her face, "You remember how I met Jaune?"

Blake blinked, then glanced around, "Yea, I remember. You said you got into a bar fight with him…. Over a picture of your mother…" Her eyes widened in horror.

"Eeyup."

"It was the first time you'd met him… but, he recognized her."

"Yup again."

Yang felt Blake swallow hard, no doubt recalling their little chat in Port's classroom last year. Where they had both shared their stories of how they'd met Jaune, and how he'd saved them. Blake, on the train. Herself from being sent to prison.

"She also stepped in to save us during the attack." Yang said quietly, still more then a little miffed at that.

"She made a portal…" Just like Jaune had said.

"Okay… if… if we're really considering this…" Blake said, her voice low, "Hypothetically. It would explain why he save me on the train. And the Docks. And in Mountain Glenn…. Why he brought all those explosives…."

"Why he sacrificed his freedom to keep me out of prison…. Why he acted so laid back around all of us, cause he _knows_ us… Why he kept disappearing…" Yang continued the train of thought.

"Why he's so good at killing."

Yang leaned her head back, resting against the back of Blake's head as she closed her eyes. The truth, the thing they had spent months trying to uncover… she'd known it wouldn't be pretty. As much as she'd hoped it'd be something simple. Something easily explained, she knew it wouldn't be.

She'd never imagined it could be like this though.

"Last night… didn't he say this was the first time he _hadn't_ ran away from home?" Blake asked. Her tone said she didn't want the answer to that question, even though she already knew it. Yang didn't answer.

Instead, she looked around them. The trees shielded them from the sun, casting shifting patterns around the two. The bustle of student's could still be heard through the tree line, not too far away, just far enough for some privacy.

Yang felt exhaustion pulling at her eyelids, reminding her of her missed beautyrest.

"Let's just...Blake?"

Yang paused, a soft snoring reached her ears, signaling that Blake had dozed off. Yang blinked, the gave a soft chuckle, leaning her head back again, she surrendered to the calls of sleep as well.

* * *

Ren sat on his bed, eyes scanning the book held in his hand. To anyone looking, he appeared to be deep in thought over the contents held inside the pages, unless they happened to notice he hadn't turned the page for a while.

"Hey, Renny?"

"Yes, Nora?"

"Do you really think Jauney is a time traveler?"

Ren paused in his 'reading' to look up at his childhood friend, who hadn't bothered to pause in her workout as she spoke. He gave the question the thought such a topic deserved before answering.

"I don't know yet." He said quietly, "You sounded convinced of it this morning, are you changing your mind?" He asked, setting the book aside.

"Nope. Makes perfect sense to me. Just wondering what your thinking on the thing was."

Ren blinked and tilted his head to the side, "As I said, I'm not sure. Jaune isn't exactly making a simple claim."

Nora let out a short laugh as she continued her exercise, "Right? It's so like Jauney."

Ren raised an eyebrow, "Just like him to apparently break the laws of time and space?"

"He does know how to fight a lot like you. How else would he be able to do that if you didn't teach him?"

The green ninja blinked.

Then blinked again.

"Jaune fights like me?" He asked, wondering when and how that had happened

"Yea, silly, he always holds back on what he can actually do!" Nora said, still powering through her pushups in the middle of the room. "He never shows anyone his full power level!"

Ren blinked again, before a soft smile broke tugged at his face, "Nora, lots of other fighters never go all out unless they have to. It's a common tactic."

"True, true." Nora pushed off the ground, bouncing to her feet and immediately began a set of jumping jacks, "But he also _said_ you trained him. At least I'm pretty sure that's what he said, he was slurring his words a lot."

"Nora-"

"Plus, magic is real. Like really real magic."

Ren closed his mouth with small click. She had him there. The Lie remained silent for several moments, the only sound in the room was Nora's steady breathing and the sound of her feet hitting the floor.

"I suppose you're right. I'm… still thinking of the ramifications of it all."

"You're always thinking. You need to learn to just go with the flow sometimes." Nora said before leaping forward, performing a 360 corkscrew dive and landing next to her friend on the bed.

Ren saved his book from falling off the bed as he looked down at her grinning face. Most people would believe it to be the smile of someone who didn't take anything seriously. Lie Ren knew better. Nora, for all her hyperactivity had a sharp mind. She just like to playing the part. He reached over and scratched her head, earning an even brighter smile from her. Yes, Nora could be serious and silly.

Like the time she wanted to add napalm to her grenade canisters.

Ren's smile slipped from his face as he pondered the deeper implications of what had been spoken of last night.

" _I've seen the worst of the world… I've watched… I've caused more death and destruction… killed more people than you can imagine… I'm a monster who can kill without the slightest hesitation…"_

Nora must have caught Ren's frown, because her smile also dimmed. "Jauney's… he's really in a lot of pain, isn't he. Renny?"

The quieter man sighed again, "Nora, if Jaune is telling the truth, I can't even begin to comprehend what he must have been through."

"We're gonna help him, right?"

"Of course, Nora. Though we need to be careful about how we do it."

"As a team. As his friends" Nora said, smiling once more, "Speaking of, let's go find the rest of ours!"

Ren nodded, stepping off the bed as Nora somersaulted off the end and joined him at the door in search for their teammates.

* * *

Qrow circled the tower outside Ozpin's office, flying around three times in a loop before catching the old man's attention. Qrow saw his eyes narrow over the frames of his glasses before he hung his head with a sigh, walked to a window and opened it.

A moment later, Qrow changed back into his human form, feeling the irritated look boring into his back. "Bad time?" He quipped, stretching his arms.

"I trust there is a good reason that you could not simply have taken the elevator like a normal person would?"

"Felt like it." Qrow shrugged, walking over to the other side of the desk. _More like I didn't feel like running into another teenager on the off chance they decided to break the world again._ He kept that thought to himself.

The Headmaster sighed, taking his seat once more and typing at his keyboard. Qrow waited patiently for him to finish, only quietly tapping out a meaningless pattern on the table.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Ozpin's eyes remained focused on the display in front of him.

Qrow opened his mouth, then reconsidered his thoughts, "Uh, yea. See, I was talking to the Kid and Ice Princess last night - they know I was Amber's handler, by the way - and Ice Princess wanted to know if the Fall Maiden's powers… uh… influenced her… semblance."

Ozpin looked up to meet Qrow's eyes, only to find he was taking a deep drink from his flask.

"I see." The Old Man hummed, "I suppose it would have an affect on it, though she has already seen that it does."

Qrow shrugged, "Yea, that's what I said. She asked if I knew how much it _could_." He glanced away, "I was hoping you'd let me see some of the Records."

Qrow winced as he felt Ozpin's full attention settle on him, praying to whoever would listen that Oz wouldn't see him sweating. Seconds passed by.

"I am busy, so I cannot accompany you."

"Yea, sure. Don't worry about it then."

Ozpin sighed, "Qrow, if this is over what happened to Amber… then I can understand, but it wasn't your fault."

If that didn't feel like a stab in the kidney, Qrow wasn't sure what would. He couldn't hide his wince at the memory. He took another swig.

"I'm just trying not to make the same mistakes." He said, looking at the far side of the room.

"I understand."

Something heavy clinked on the table behind Qrow. He slowly turned around to see an large, rusted key lying next to Oz's hand, "You have three hours to find what you're looking for, if you can't find it, we'll go look together as soon as possible. Please put everything back where you found it."

Qrow looked at the key, then up to Ozpin's face before carefully reaching out for the key and carefully picking it up. Ozpin held his gaze for a moment, "Good luck Qrow. I hope you find the answers you are looking for."

Qrow nodded before turning to the elevator, "I hope so too. And, thanks."

* * *

 **Ok, so.**

 **Shorter chapter, I am sorry. Lots of life happening. Hopefully ya'll enjoyed, and I will be working on the next chapter as soon as I can.**

 **Another** _ **slight**_ **reason for the delay, though not a big one, will be apparent soon.**

 **Also, me and Jaeger have been working on things…**

 **Dastardly devious things.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Up from the grave and all that jazz. Guess who's still kicking.**

Chapter 13

* * *

Art by: KegiSpringfield

Beta: ErenJaeger17 (first half)

* * *

Cold water splashed across her face as Weiss scrubbed at her eyes to try and wash some of the sleep from her mind. Looking in the mirror caused her to wince. Stress lines, from last night's confrontation, still visible.

Pale blue, haunted eyes stared back at her from the mirror.

" _I… I just… When I woke up this time… I couldn't remember my sisters names… I only woke up two or three days earlier than last time… but this time… this time I didn't want to… couldn't leave them…" Jaune pulled his legs up to his chest, "I couldn't remember my sister's names… Who forgets their sister's names?"_

Sharp, shallow breaths made her chest ache at the memory.

She'd thought she'd come to terms with everything, the fact that this wasn't Jaune's first life. The fact that he had lived and died over and over, but hearing the despair in his voice, and the tears she was sure he hadn't shed in a long time, bit deeper than imaginable.

A slender hand brushed the limp stands away from her sky blue eyes, slowly trailing down the scar. It was small and superficial. She'd hated it.

" _Weiss… I remember… I remmeberr this one time," Jaune half spoke, half slurred. He'd been drinking already, and the bottle that Mr Branwen had bought was now half empty. "You… you were training with Ruby and us…" He gestured to the others sat around them, "You.. told us you got your scar trying to earn your freedom... it was a test from your… I think you said, 'cold hearted bastard of a father…."_

A finger brushed her eye. Her scar was paltry and shallow. Minuscule compared to what her partner bore. A scratch compared to what he had been subject to. For years, the knight was the scariest monster she'd ever faced. Never would she'd thought something could overshadow what she'd faced that day.

Until she'd lived _that_ night twice.

She shivered at the memories of the event, and more so, the last few hours.

She'd known the truth for months now, it shouldn't shock her as much anymore.

The nightgown she wore did nothing for the cold chill that shot through her spine.

So much had happened in the last few months, yet so little accomplished. There were meetings, grief support, minor missions to clear grimm in the forests. A few students had left the school, others had quit outright. There had been going away parties and events to celebrate the battle that had been won. Her father had disowned her.

Distractions, each and every one of them.

The power of the Fall Maiden burned beneath her skin in response to her emotions.

It itched. It burned.

Then something else, then this thing, then that thing. Always something else to focus on. Something else to worry about.

Weiss accepted the fact that she had been intentionally delaying something she desperately needed to do: actually come to terms with what Jaune had been. She'd taking every opportunity to avoid actually dealing with the situation. Simple, easy snipes of humor, clinging to her frosty attitude and image to distract from reality. Anything to keep people - keep her - from thinking of what was actually happening.

After last night, now she didn't have a choice. She _had_ to think about it. Last night had forced her hand, forced Jaune's hand, and now?

 _They_ knew.

Yang and Blake. Ruby, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora. Along with Mr. Branwen, they all knew the truth. A bitter part of her mind said they wouldn't believe it. That they would convince themselves that what they'd heard last night was a lie.

That Jaune was lying to them.

It made her shiver again, even as she stepped out of her night clothes and turned the shower to hot.

She had _wanted_ the truth to be brought out.

Now that it was, why was she terrified of what might happen?

Perhaps she'd only wanted it known only so she wouldn't be the only one burdened with the knowledge.

* * *

Blake awoke to a grumbling stomach and a sore neck. Groaning in annoyance, she levered herself up by one arm and blinked blearily at her surroundings. It look several seconds for her to catch up on where and why she was outside. Upon remembering said reasons, she quickly laid back down, bringing her hands up to massage the bridge of her nose.

Time travel.

Jaune had traveled through time.

Impossible. Idiotic. Completely unbelievable.

There had to be another explanation. Something else he was hiding.

She'd played along for a while, a mix of irritation and curiosity kept her from leaving the conversation. Then he'd dropped that line she _knew_ only her and her family knew. What was she supposed to think after _that?_

Now that they'd had some rest, hopefully everyone would be thinking clearly now, and Jaune would fess up to it being nothing more than drunken rambling. No matter the consequences or implications of spying, those could be forgiven to settle the… the horror that was the only other option.

She hoped so.

She hoped that for whatever reason he had, it was justifiable to come up with this insanity to hide it.

A stomach growled again, reminding her of missed meals. Except it wasn't _her_ stomach. Turning over, Blake stared at the source of heat that had been warming her back. Golden waves of hair greeted her.

Sitting back up, Blake blinked again and stared at the sleeping blonde. Yang's hair was an absolute mess. Tangled and unkempt, not to mention grass, marred the usually well cared for mane in what had to be the most horrible case of bedhead in history. Where it any other occasion, Blake would have taken the opportunity to gather some blackmail. As it was, she simply began shaking her partner's arm, rousing the blonde from her slumber.

When a solid ten seconds of constant, gentle shaking yielded no results, Blake was forced to escalate.

Step one was violent shaking.

Step two was vigorous arm slapping.

Step three was backing up a few feet, taking a deep breath and half yelling out; "Look out Yang! Jaune has scissors!"

She knew her partner well.

Yang woke up while throwing a wild haymaker at the source of Blake's voice. Given the distance between them, and Blake's general common sense, Yang's punch met no resistance and the blonde brawler over reached and landed on her face in a crumpled heap.

" _Bllllaaakkeee… wwwhhyyyyy."_ Came the pleading whimper Yang slowly untangled herself.

"Because you weren't waking up." Blake said, crossing her arms as she waited for Yang to gain full consciousness. "Besides, the day's passing by already, and I'm hungry."

"Uhhhggg…. Fine." Yang groaned and pushed herself up, rubbing the sand out of her eyes before pulling her hair around in front of her to inspect it. "Blagh. I'm taking a shower first though, you coming?"

Blake hummed, while content to simply brush her hair out with her fingers, a quick washing of her hair in the sink would deal with the worst of it for now.

"So… " Yang rubbed a fist into her eye.

"Don't. Not until after we eat and I have some time to think." Blake interrupted, not willing to let Yang immediately drag her into the apparent twilightzone their lives had become.

"Fine. But we are going to talk about this." Yang relented, as they reached the main corridor of Beacon as the two split off, her partner heading for the communal showers near the sparring ring.

* * *

Weiss finished her shower, taking extra time in drying off and slipping into a new set of clothes. Her dress freshly washed and light makeup reapplied, she took several long moments to inspect herself in the mirror. Only when she was satisfied that her emotions were back in check, did she step out into the room.

Macska was sitting in the middle of the room, blue and golden eyes immediately zoning in on the newest source of movement in the room. Watching the kitten roll it's head to the side, she raised an eyebrow as furball leapt forward. Loping towards her, half sideways, Macska veered off more than a foot away from Weiss, almost tripping herself in the process before zooming back over to the rope ball she'd been playing with before.

Weiss couldn't resist a giggle as the kitten attacked the ball with all four legs, flopping to her side before viciously gnawing on the defenseless toy.

A low growl tore her eyes upwards.

Jaune sat on the side of her bed, his hands hanging off his knees as his hair hid his eyes. Weiss blinked as he drew a long breath and rolled his shoulders, the quiet click of popping bones making her flinch slightly.

The sound snapped her thoughts back in order, and Weiss took a soft step forward, watching the way he hunched his shoulders at the sound.

"Jaune."

He flinched slightly, eyes tracing the floor in random patterns. Her breathing paused. It felt like watching a… a wild beast waking from a long slumber. The way his body swayed dramatically to the side before his hand lashed out to stabilize himself on the bed. Slowly, he brought his gaze up to meet hers. Murky blue eyes blinked several times.

"Wha.. What time is.. Is it?" He asked, voice sounding like sandpaper.

Weiss glanced at the alarm clock on the table, "Almost a quarter to ten." She said, keeping her voice even,

"N-no… What is to… today?" Jaune asked shaking his head as he tried to stand.

"Jaune? What ar-"

"What day is it?!" Jaune asked harshly, cutting her off as his eyes swept around the room. With a start, he almost collapsed before catching himself and rushing to where his scroll was kept on the nightstand.

"Jaune!" Weiss blurted, reaching forward as he nearly crashed face first into the furniture, stopped only by a burst of aura that saved him before she could reach him. Not that it saved the edge of the nightstand as Jaune reached out and caught himself with one hand, the cracking of wood sounded loudly.

Jaune clutched the shattered edge of the night stand as Weiss rushed to him, panic swiftly replaced with fear. He was in no shape to be rushing around, especially after last night. One arm reached around his torso as the other braced against the nightstand to keep them stable.

A fear burned into anger, what was he thinking? He'd been shot, then got drunk, then broke reality for everyone!

"Sit down!" She hissed, reversing their positions and pinning him against the bed, "Before you make anything else worse than you already have."

Jaune blinked hazily at her, making her reach up and grab his chin to focus his gaze. She stared deep into those deep blue eyes, ignoring the spark of aura where she squeezed his face. "Are you paying attention now?" She asked, snapping her fingers in front of him.

A hissed breath was all the warning she had as something buried itself into her stomach, launching her off him and sent her crashing to the ground in the middle of the room.

"J-Jaune?" Weiss recovered quickly from the sudden strike, standing up in the middle of the room to stare at him.

Jaune was half crouching with his back to the night stand, one hand rummaging around in the drawer. "Who are you? What day is it…" His words broke off as reality seemed to strike him. "Weiss? Oh…. oh fuck… oh Weiss…. I'm sorry…."

Weiss picked herself up off the floor, her own aura flashing for a brief moment, the attack quickly forgotten. "You're sorry? Sorry for what, exactly!?" Her temper flashed hotly, "Sorry for what? For last night? Or throwing me on the floor?"

She watched as his jaw closed with a snap. His limbs locked up for a moment as his clouded eyes locked onto hers for a moment. With a sigh, Jaune straightened up and walked towards the door, only for Weiss to intercept him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Weiss growled.

"I don't know…" Jaune said, refusing to meet her eyes.

"Is that so? Fine. Go wherever you want. See if I care!" She snapped, failing to notice how Jaune flinched.

"Sorry, Weiss…" Jaune whispered before pushing out the door. His coat still open as he closed the door with a soft click.

* * *

The lunch rush was beginning to die down as Ruby and Pyrrha made their way to a table. Ruby held a small bowl of strawberries in one hand with her other occupied with a large glass of milk, while Pyrrha had a simple salad and a bottle of water.

Making their way down the rows, Pyrrha spied Yang and Blake sat in a corner, and steered Ruby in the correct direction. The two didn't even notice them approaching.

The Blonde and Faunus flinched when they softly announced themselves before giving guilty apologies.

"How are you guys holding up?" Ruby asked softly, sitting down quietly as she could. Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes though, none of them did. Yang's hair hung limply around her shoulders, still damp. Blake's was in a similar state, though obviously she hadn't taken a full shower.

Blake made a small hum in response to the question, pushing around the remains of her lunch. Yang shrugged, "Eh, I guess I'm not sure."

Ruby nodded, picking up a strawberry and munching on it. She wanted to say something, anything to spur some kind of reaction.

"Crazy weather today, huh?" She asked.

Three blank expressions stared at her. Welp. She was out of ideas now.

"... Has anyone seen Nora or Ren?" Ruby tried again after finishing off another strawberry. Come on, anything to break up the gloom and doom that was hanging off of everyone.

Pyrrha flinched a little, blinking once before pulling out her scroll. She typed out a short message, it was returned not three seconds later. Ruby leaned over her arm to read it, sighing in relief before looking towards the lunch line.

Nora waved excitedly while Ren nodded towards them. The rest of the table nodded in return, turning back to their food while they waited for the duo to join them. Minutes later, Nora plopped down into the spot next to Yang, a small landmass worth of pancakes balanced on her plate. Ren, more reserved, sat down beside Ruby, opposite Pyrrha.

"So! What's up everybody?" Nora asked, her bubbly attitude shining as always. Ruby gave her a long look, trying to perceive any false jubilation. Nora met her eyes and grinned.

The rest of the table wasn't quite as perky. A collection of soft glares and sighs were all the bomber got for a response.

Rolling her eyes, with a mouth full of floury sugar, Nora proudly proclaimed, "Gmmug. Icks a wugerful-"

Ren cut her off with a hand over her mouth. "Finish eating before you speak." He said calmly, taking a bite of his own plate and chewing softly.

Nora swallowed loudly, "I was just saying, why is everyone looking so gloomy. It's boring! We have an extra day off and the weather is wonderful! Oh, oh, Renny! Do you want to go for a run? Pyrrha can be our pace setter!"

Everyone turned to Pyrrha, who blinked owlishly. "Uhm, sure? I guess a little exercise might be nice?"

Blake groaned, poking lifelessly at her food, "I think I'll skip."

"Nuh uh."

It was Blake's turn to blink at Nora, "I'm sorry?"

"You're coming with! Everyone is coming!" Nora declared, causing one or more people within earshot to turn in confusion.

Yang sighed, "I'm not really feeling up to a run today, Nora. Sorry."

"Too bad! Running is good for you." Nora refuted, "Plus, if you're exhausted, you'll be too tired to think any depressing thoughts!"

The entire table froze for a moment, staring at the grinning ginger. Ren sighed, finishing the last of his plate. "Perhaps it would be best for everyone to have a distraction for a little bit."

"Alright! It's decided!" Ruby declared as she slammed her half eaten plate down, grabbing Pyrrha's arm and dragging the surprised spartan out of her seat. Pyrrha's awkward cry went ignored as she rounded the table, snagging Yang's arm as well.

In any other circumstances, there was little chance Ruby could actually force either of the older girls to move through brute force. Perhaps they weren't as against the idea as they'd said? Ruby hoped so. The fact that Yang snagged Blake by the collar along the way brought a tiny smile to her face.

Nora let out a whoop and vaulted out of seat in hot pursuit.

Ren finished one more bite of his food before following with a quiet sign and small smile.

* * *

An hour later, Pyrrha was keeping a light jog around the track field. Ruby keeping easy pace next to her and the others not far behind. Running after eating was usually a poor idea, but it wasn't like they'd really eaten anything.

A glance back showed a little more life in everyone's eyes, Yang said something to Blake, who snorted before shooting the Blonde a glare and upping her speed. Nora was back further, talking and waving her arms dramatically while Ren simply smiled and nodded along.

Pyrrha took a peek at her scroll, noting their distance before slowing down to a fast jog for another lap. It never did any good to go from exerting oneself to resting, not without a cool down. Ruby sagged a little at the decreased pace, clearly happy another five or more laps weren't in the immediate future.

"So. Feel any better?" Nora asked, jogging in place while the others spread out in the shade.

Yang shrugged, "A little bit I guess. Definitely taking another shower though."

Nora beamed, "Great! That means we can talk about Jaune being a time traveler!"

Ruby facepalmed as the atmosphere promptly hit sub zero temperatures. Pyrrha winced and glanced at the others, all of whom were suddenly very interested in literally anything else. "Nora," She said, not meeting the orange haired girls eyes, "I don't think… Well, I think everyone still needs some time to-"

Nora cut her off by suddenly being very much inside her personal space. "Need time for what?" She asked, the honest curiosity in her voice left Pyrrha speechless.

"Nora, we talked about this." Ren sighed, pulling her back a little.

"Yea, but its been like half a day! Everyone's already _had_ time." She proclaimed, before crossing her arms and pouting. "I want to talk about it. Before we start to forget. It's not like Jaune's just going to tell us again anyways."

Pyrrha flinched at the last part, and looking over at Yang, she'd had a very similar reaction. "He never has been a very open person." The blonde sighed. "Well, except for last night that is…"

"Maybe we can just ignore all this?" Blake asked, crossing her arms and looking away. "If… if it is true, is there anything we can actually do about it?"

"We could help him." Nora said, face flat as she glared at Blake, "You were one of the most adamant about helping him in the first place."

Blake refused to meet her gaze.

Yang shuffled her feet.

Nora crossed her arms.

"I think everyone still needs some time to process everything, okay Nora?" Ren spoke up, laying a hand on her shoulder.

The bomber huffed and rolled her eyes, "Everyone was _sooo_ worked up trying to figure it out, but when the answer literally falls into their laps…" she turned and stomped away from the two teams.

Ruby winced, "She's right, guys…" The reaper began to follow her teammate, turning back to smile weakly at the rest, "We wanted the truth… even if it is something we would never… never have guessed."

Pyrrha nodded numbly, followed by Yang, both slowly trailing after the departing dou. Behind them, Pyrrha heard Blake scoff. She glanced back to see a furious scowl on the girls face, with a patient looking Ren standing next to her. The boy gave her a soft nod, letting her know he would look after Blake till she calmed down. She gave a soft smile back. She really did have an amazing team.

* * *

Cardin growled as Sky dove beneath his mace as he over extended, finding his arm trapped as the spindlier man used halberd to pin his arm and twist it to the side. He made to pry him off with his free hand, only to spy Dove coming in from the other side.

With a heave, he spun into Sky.

Sky clearly wasn't expecting the move as he instinctively tightened his grip to maintain his balance. Cardin raised both his mace and Sky up with one arm as he intercepted Dove's overhead strike with the body of his teammate. Dove tried to change his strike, but was bowled over as Cardin stepped in to it, crashing down onto both of them in a dogpile.

"Give! Give. Get off me you fat bastard." Dove cursed from the bottom of the pile, hand slapping repeatedly on the mat.

Cardin sighed as Sky let go of him and stood up, "I'm not fat, I'm built." He retorted as he rolled his shoulder. He looked to Russel, stood inside the ring on the opposite corner. "Comment's, Russ?"

Russel scratched his chin, readjusting the backpack he wore before speaking. "Not a bad strategy, on Dove and Sky's part. Taking out your weapon and trying to immobilize you almost worked." The green haired teen said, nodding to his teammates, "You just happened to be strong enough to power through."

"I can still beat you in arm wrestling." Dove grumbled out as he got up.

Cardin just grinned as he walked over and accepted the backpack from Russel, who drew his own weapons and moved to square off against the other two. "They're still sitting up there." Russ mumbled as he walked by.

Cardin cast a glance up into the empty seats where, sitting in the front row, was one of team RATH. Sitting a few seats down, Yatsutashi was also watching, the giant of a man calmly observing them.

"Anything from the peanut gallery?" Cardin called, letting the two spies know they hadn't gone unnoticed. Not that they were even trying to be stealthy, since the girl from RATH was actually eating popcorn with her legs kicked up onto the railing.

"Nope! Just watching you exhaust yourselves." She called out.

Cardin rolled his eyes, wasn't gonna do them much good.

He grinned slightly, he'd schedualled the training time specifically because they all had the last class of the day soon. A few minutes after their training slot was up to be exact. So unless RATH thought they could take them down inside three minutes - in the middle of the school, without breaking anything or missing class - CRDL got to train while no one could attack them for their bag.

Well, no one had really tested Miss Goodwitch on her promises yet, and he doubted anyone was about to.

Plus, no one could enter the ring without setting off the warning system. CRDL couldn't shoot out, and they couldn't snipe in. It was a pretty good solution to getting in some extra training without exposing themselves if he didn't say so himself.

Pulling his attention back to the others, Cardin watched as Sky flicked Russel to the other side of the ring. Russ twisted mid air, landing on his feet and burst forward, spinning violently towards Dove. The swordsman braced with both hands on his blade, taking the impact on the flat as Dove doubled forwards to slash twice at his face.

Sky joined the fray in an instant, swiping his halberd high enough as to miss Dove, but still force Russ to disengage.

The back and forth continued for another minute, Russel using his reflexes to stay out of reach, while Dove moved to block his retreat and Sky using his extended striking range to harry Russ. It was a solid plan on everyone's part.

Cardin nodded slowly as he watched him. They were getting better. That was good. Now, they just needed to beat three other teams, all older and tougher than them. Leather creaked as he gripped his mace.

"I give." Sky sighed as Russ managed to get past his guard and put his blue haired teammate into a headlock, one blade resting against his aura.

Cardin nodded, doing the same for them as Russel had for them, before handing the backpack to Sky and joining Dove in trying to nail down the swiftest of them.

* * *

Nora knew Ruby was following her. As was Yang, and Pyrrha. Geeze, she felt like she was leading a funeral procession. She put a little extra pep in her step as she scouted around the outside of the school. She'd already talked to Weiss, who was still in her room, and listened at the heiress held a small rant about how dumb her partner was.

It was old hat at this point, so much like last year it made her grin. People fought all the time, so that was normal. The fact that Weiss was ranting about how ' _..even after living for a thousand years, he's still thicker than a train!'_ had her grinning. She wasn't worried. Nope! Not one bit.

It meant that Weiss really did believe Jaune, and was just angry at him for being an idiot. Which, Nora thought, was both fair and unfair. Yes, Jaune should trust them, but if he'd tried before and no one believed him, then why should he try?

Her grin faded.

That probably hurt their friend more than anything. If there was one thing she knew, it was Jauney needed a hug right now. And damn it all, she was going to give him one. Nora's pace became more determined as she approached the edge of the Emerald Forest. No Jauney. She turned, making Ruby have to dodge out of the way, and headed towards the training rooms. She shouted out a loud "Hi!" to team CRDL, but no Jaune. Ok. She might be considering worrying a little.

Nora tapped her finger against her lip as she stood atop one of the roofs looking over part of the school.

Where oh where was Jauney?

* * *

Blake growled as she turned another corner, Ren staying a few easy steps behind her. Her silent companion grating on her nerves as she tried for a fourth time to lose him.

 _You're walking around the halls of Beacon,_ She mentally berated herself, _How are you going to lose him in the school._

Finally, she brought herself short, half hoping he would crash into her. Instead, he simply stopped as well, just inside her peripheral, just enough to let her know he was there. With a growl, she turned and glared at him, his neutral expression simply irritating her more.

"Why are you following me?" She asked, leveling her most piercing glare she could muster at him.

"Because Nora asked me to." He said calmly. Of course Nora did.

"Well you can cut it out. I'm on edge enough without you… just…" She struggled for a moment with her words, "hovering…"

A small guilty expression crossed his face, "Ah, I suppose it is a little much."

Blake wanted to pull her hair out, with a glance up and down the empty hallway, she reached out and grabbed him by the collar. Ren offered no resistance as she shoved him into an empty room.

She stalked in after him, slamming the door shut. "How. How are you so freaking calm about all of this?!" She hissed, standing in front of the door as if to block his escape.

Ren blinked at her, "I thought Jaune explained my semblance fairly well last night."

Blake flinched, "So what, you can just… hide your negative emotions from Grimm? How does that explain anything?"

"It's… a little more complex than that." Ren said a little defensibly, "But it'd be easier to show you."

"How?" She growled, "Why is it easier?"

Ren didn't answer, instead, he closed his eyes with a sigh. She didn't notice anything immediately though. When he opened his eyes, all Blake could see was a complete and total lack of emotion in his magenta eyes.

He held one hand out and in a completely flat voice, he spoke, "It can be very difficult to accurately describe what emotional suppression can feel like, not without experiencing it yourself."

The bored tone in his voice made her want to huff and roll her eyes. So she did. Still, his proffered hand remained out to her. With an irritated hiss, She took it.

As soon as she made contact, Blake's frazzled nerves froze up. It felt like someone had thrown a heavy towel over her thoughts, preventing her annoyance and fear from overwhelming her mind. A random thought said she should be terrified of this feeling, but the blanket covered it before she could think of _exactly_ why.

It wasn't an attack. This wasn't a fight or flight situation. Ren was simply showing how he was able to be so calm in an otherwise horrifying situation.

Blake took a breath as the blanket rolled over her emotions, "Hmm. I see how this would be hard to explain."

"Emotion is not removed, simply leveled so I can rationally think." Ren allowed a small grin ghost over his features for a moment. "At least that is what I usually use it for. Sometimes I calm down a certain overactive overactive imagination."

A flicker of mirth sparked up before it too was covered by the blanket. Blake spared a moment to recognize the feeling before she focused on the issue at hand. "You think I am overreacting to what Jaune was rambling about last night?" She said, her tone calm.

"I do." Ren answered, "Though it is at least an understandable reaction, I believe you have been hurt the most by this. If not Pyrrha or Weiss, that is. You have had the most reaction in the past 24 hours."

Guilt flashed and faded before it could take hold. Blake sighed, she hadn't even thought of how Pyrrha must feel, or any of them. "I can see that," Blake nodded, "But that brings up the whole issue behind this." She paused and looked him straight in the eyes, "Do you honestly believe Jaune?"

"I do." Ren said, maybe it was the effect of his semblance, but she believed him.

"Despite how irrational, how ludicrous it sounds?" She asked, for once her own paranoia didn't jump to spying. Another recognition of how she was actually asking was noted in her mind.

"I simply cannot come up with a single reason _how_ Jaune knows what he knows, how he acts, how he behaves." Ren listed off, as calmly as if he was discussing the weather, "Jaune is an incredible fighter, yet wanted no part of attending Beacon. If what he said is true, I can certainly understand why."

Blake swallowed as fear was once more calmed, "I suppose so." She said softly, looking at where her hand was clasped with his, "I wonder how much of my life would differ if I had the same semblance as you."

Ren raised an eyebrow, "I have learned that my semblance, just like any other, is a double edged blade. It's effects linger longer with continued exposure."

With that, he let go of her hand and let his fall back to his side. Blake felt a twinge of sympathy at the implication, it was reduced, but didn't immediately fade like it would have a second ago. Blake clenched her jaw at the realization.

With a flick of her hair, she turned her head to look out the window, "So what do you suggest we do?"

"Find Jaune. As soon as we can." Ren said, the slightest tinge of emotion in his voice, "Then we deal with this together. With everyone."

Blake nodded before opening the door and heading down the corridor, Ren following quietly behind.

* * *

 **Ok. Yes I'm still around. Just another random hiatus.**

 **I'm moving things along. Maybe too slowly, maybe to quickly. Maybe Random CRDL for the sake of it. Beats me.**

 **Let's see if I get another chapter out this year.**

 **No Jaeger on the last half or so unfortunately, I think he's still alive?**

 **Oh, and who the hell is making Spambots for FanFic?**


	14. Chapter 14

**It's that time of the year, when I post several chapters before disappearing back into the void! Yay!**

Chapter 14

* * *

 **CoverArt:** **KegiSpringfield**

 **Beat: (?I think he's still alive?)**

* * *

Gynda narrowed her gaze as she watched the two students duke it out on stage. Her eye twitching ever so slightly behind the rims of her glasses.

Mr Yatsuhashi Daichi brought his over sized Fulcrum rushing downward towards his opponent, only for said opponent to parry the strike downwards. She was going to have to schedule maintenance for the ring again. Thankfully, this was the last fight of the day.

The student facing the giant of team CFVY was the team leader of RATH. Why she had thought to place _any_ teammates of _any_ of the four teams against each other, when they were _already_ in competition for Mr Arc's class, she hadn't the slightest clue.

Lesson learned she supposed.

The sound of clashing steel brought her attention back to the duo as Mr Jason Redds launched into a counter assault. Putting to use his lighter weapon - still a Claymore, she reminded herself - to use by feigning a strike to Mr Daichi's thigh, before reversing to clip his shoulder while the other man attempted to save his head.

 _They are certainly doing away with the flashy attacks._ She mused to herself, _Though I'm sure there is more riding on this fight than a simple win for either team._

Glynda hid a wince as another section of training ring was damaged as Mr Daichi was able to grab Mr Redds by one leg and repeatedly beat him against the ground. Thankfully, with only enough force to rapidly deplete his opponent's aura, it still dented the floor.

She was about to end the match, even though Mr Redds still had plenty of aura, when a loud bang and a splashing sound made her sigh.

A new paint job seemed in order as well, it seemed.

The fight continued for another minute before the timer expired, ringing shrilly over the sound of combat. A draw.

 _As annoying as it is, I am glad I installed that._ Glynda thought, still miffed over the last time a match had gone on for half the class time.

The two combatants dusted themselves off and stood at attention, awaiting her comments and criticisms. Glynda stepped forward with a restrained twitch in her right eye.

"Mr Redds. While I applaud creativity and ingenuity that does not involve endangering the audience." She said, blocking out the sniggers from said audience, "I am afraid I am going to have to bring back The A-List."

The fox faunus winced as she glared at him, sheepishly hiding the ruined pouch behind his back.

"I would like to reiterate that any weapons or equipment that is _NOT personally sanctioned by me_ , will _not_ be allowed in the arena." Her glare continued from Mr Redds up into the crowd, making sure each and every one of them nodded back. "Seeing as I neglected to enforce this before the match, however, I shall not make you clean up this mess, Mr Redds." She finished with a sigh.

The young man straightened back up.

Glynda resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "I believe having to spend yet another week with your face painted pink is punishment enough." Not that Mr Diachi deserved it.

Mr Redds sucked air through his teeth at the realization of what he'd done to himself. Incidentally inhaling some paint at the same time. Mr Daichi gave him a few helpful pats on the back, but appeared to have taken to breathing through his nose to help deal with the amount of pink dye paint that was currently _soaking_ both of them.

"You are dismissed." She sighed. Watching the rest of the class depart while two teams came to collect their tie-dyed teammates, waiting for them to leave before turning and pinching her nose with one hand.

"How you manage to disrupt my combat class when you aren't even _in it_ , disturbs me, Mr Arc. It truly does." Glynda muttered as she gingerly stepped around the large splash of paint, sending out a work order for basic repairs _and_ a large amount of dye-remover.

* * *

Nora moved down the corridors like a predator in search of her prey. Students fled from her intensely focused glare. She cornered one likely looking - from behind and a hunched position - suspect, only to growl when said suspect turned out to be a girl.

Blast.

Slowly she made another lap around the halls, on the constant lookout for a tall, scraggly - but strong - blond, time travelling noodle. Nora did not like being denied her prey.

...

About ten feet behind, the rest of the 'hunting party' trailed along. Ruby, Pyrrha, and Yang simply accepting Nora's antics. While the energetic bomber continued to startle unsuspecting students, Yang glanced over at the taller redhead.

"Hey, you holding up okay there, Champ?" She asked, keeping her voice low enough only the other two girls could hear her.

Pyrrha looked over with a questioning look, one that fell into a pained expression immediately. She coughed into a fist, "Um. Well, I was a little worse for wear earlier. Ruby gave me some advice though."

Ruby beamed up at her partner, giving the older girl a reassuring nudge. Yang smiled too, her little sister was growing up. Between becoming a team leader and everything else, Ruby certainly had her moments.

"That's good." She said, rubbing her little sisters hair. Her smile faltering a moment as Ruby didn't instantly fight back, instead leaning slightly into her hand. She slammed her smile back into place before anyone could notice. "H-how'd she do that?"

Pyrrha took a deep breath, "By reminding me that… that just because I was supposed to die up on the tower, Jaune spent so long - actually breaking time - to keep it from happening." A brilliant smile broke across her face, "So, our lives aren't set in set in stone, and Destiny isn't a certainty, either."

Yang stared at her slack jawed, before looking down at her cute little sister. "Wha- Ruby said that?" That was extremely profound. Even Yang wouldn't have came up with that kind of answer.

Pyrrha snickered, tapping her chin as if deep in thought, "Well. I asked her if she believed in Destiny, and she said 'nope'. And that she was gladAGCK-"

The Champion was cut off as a swirl of angry red and black huntress cut her off, forcing her to try and keep her team leader from gagging her mouth. Yang just laughed along.

* * *

Weiss waited patiently at the edge of a private training ring, listening to her own heart beat steadily in her chest as she focused on her breathing.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

A subtle breeze shifted across her skin.

In.

Out.

The clack of shoes on the floor sounded in her ears.

In.

Out.

"Ya ready kiddo?" A gruff voice asked as Weiss cracked her eyes open. Mr Bra- Qrow stood a few feet from her, a haggard look on his face. He looked slightly more hunched than normal and she could smell the alcohol from where she sat. Unfortunately, Miss Goodwitch was still in class, so Weiss turned to the next person who could help train her.

Taking another breath, she slowly stood up and faced him. "No smart aleck remarks?" She asked, taking a step forward despite the smell. She winced a moment later, she wasn't meaning to be sharp. Perhaps earlier was still bothering her.

Qrow's eyes sharpened, "Easy, brat. I ain't always got all the best lines."

"Forgive me. It's been a… trying morning already." Wiess bowed, berating herself. He was more than likely still reeling from the night as well.

The old huntsman sighed, "It's fine… I get it. Speaking of irritating, annoying, and unconventional, where is Wonderboy?" He asked, looking around the empty room. "When you asked for training, I kinda figured he'd be Johnny on the spot."

"I… I don't know." Weiss admitted, chewing on her lip. "The others are out looking for him. He… he woke up earlier and didn't know where - when - he was."

Qrow paled for a moment, "Oh. Oh shit."

Weiss paused, "Yes, well… It took him a few minutes to realize where. We… we tussled."

There was a moment where she was sure he was going to make some wisecrack, instead, Qrow gave her a critical look. "You hurt?" He asked.

She shook her head, "I pinned him for a moment while he was confused, but he threw me off." The memory of his expression made her wince, "That was when he seemed to remember where he was and… I yelled at him. I was so angry…"

The last part was what hurt the most. He was still drunk, or at least still confused, even after sitting out on the roof with them all, they'd only stayed there maybe a quarter of an hour. Then everyone had kind of broken off, with her and Jaune heading back to the room. He doubtless had no idea what was going on and she had just snapped at him like that.

"I don't even know _why_ I was angry… I'm an awful-"

"Hey, hey, easy." Qrow said, waving a finger at her, "Everyone's a little scattered brained right now. It ain't your fault. None of this is." He growled, "You ain't responsible for this shit show one way or another."

"I am responsible for my actions and words," Weiss retorted, standing a little taller to shoot a glare at him.

"Yea?" Qrow challenged, doing the same, "Well news flash Princess, you're human and humans make mistakes. You made a mistake, accept that and move on."

Weiss bristled, cursing the fact that he was so much taller than her, "Well, I have to be more than human now, don't I? I have a duty, I have to be the strongest and-"

"No." The vicious tone cut her off, actually making her take a step back.

"But-"

"But nothing." Qrow snarled, holding his ground, "You're a teenage girl learning to fight monsters and just got an unholy amount of bullshit heaped on you. You can be as strong as you want, but the moment you believe that strength is all that matters? You become a monster."

Weiss recoiled, staring at him, "B-but the Maiden Po-"

"Piss on the Powers." Qrow cut in again, "You've got just about the biggest bullseye in Remnant on your back, but that doesn't make you any more or less human." He sighed and pulled out his flask, "You've still got a boyfriend, you've still got goals in life."

Qrow broke eye contact with her for a moment to glare at the flask, "You still got a life. The Power of the Maidens are just another headache you're gonna have to deal with."

Weiss didn't protest as silence descended between them as he reached to unscrew the flask. With a great sigh, his hand dropped and he hid the flask back in his vest.

"I ain't got no problem helping you get stronger. So long as you never forget it's _NOT_ the most important thing in life." He said softly. "I might not be as good at this as Glynda, but I was Amber's prote - I was _supposed_ to be Amber's protector. I fucked up and it cost her everything."

"I ain't saying I won't fail you either, but I've got one life and I'm going to do my damnedest to do the best I can." Qrow met her gaze as he spoke, "If Jaune could withstand failure for a thousand failures to get us here, then I'm gonna do what I can to make it worth it."

Weiss drew a breath, "You…"

"I believe him, yea." Qrow grinned, "Ain't the most asinine thing I've read of today."

"Thank you." Weiss sighed, for some reason feeling a little better.

Qrow grunted, "Thank me in ten years. For now, let's focus on making you a little stronger. Only a little," He said, holding his finger up again, "We still have to go track down the Wonderboy before he… I don't know, turns off gravity or something."

Weiss let a small smile, "Very well. Where do we start?"

Qrow gave a vicious grin, "Well, I hear Glynda's been sticking to helping you control the weather, how about something a little more… direct."

* * *

Ozpin read over the final draft of his speech for the council. He sighed, more pointless pandering and trigger phrases. Yet another tragedy - the kingdom would come back stronger. A thousand more lives lost - memories and legacies to honor. A hundred more lies fed to the powerful.

 _Not that any one of those 'powerful individuals' could hold a candle to the worth of any student._

The Old Wizard gave a defeated sigh as he took his coffee and strode to the other side of his desk, desperate to not have to look at the statistics and fanciful words that played across his terminal. It was days like this that made him long for those times long passed.

He took a sip of coffee, letting his mind drift back. Though it was a different body, his memories still held the rush of the fight, the thrum of adrenaline through his veins. Back when he'd been a Soldier, a Warrior. His hands tightened into fists at the phantom feeling of fighting grimm with his staff and powers.

Simpler times. Not easier for sure, but times when heart and character meant more than wealth and reputation. Back when a daring spirit, one willing to risk everything, was more sought after than those who promised safety through repetition and submission to rules.

Heaving a deep sigh, he let the feelings go. He wasn't that any more. Even when this body passed and he moved on to the next, he would yet again have to take up the mantle of leadership. It was his duty, his Destiny, until he could complete the task set be the God of Light.

His terminal beeped.

Ozpin ignored it, opting to lean heavily against his desk.

He took a sip of coffee, idly trying to remember exactly which notification he'd assigned _that_ beep to.

While others might never be able to tell, save a few with very acute hearing, each and every beep his terminal and scroll made had a specific pitch and length. A variable hundred plus notifications indistinguishable to any but he.

He took another sip. _Ah, that's right. Don't remember why I had the remote terminal for the launch pads send me notifications though._ He thought.

A second bedeep sound pinged. Ozpin sighed, _That would be the good Counselor Sabastian. No doubt with more rabble about raising the people's spirit. More festival plans not doubt._ He grumbled as he took a longer sip. He was going to have to refill his cup at this rate. _Does the man really not comprehend that people MIGHT be a little….._

Ozpin choked mid sip.

"Wait." He coughed, holding a sleeve over his mouth to try and keep from spluttering coffee all over his new glass floor.

Taking three long steps back to the other side of the desk. The Old Wizard waved one of his screens clear, taking care not to delete anything, and pulled up the camera control panel. A massive network spiderwebbed in front of him as he tapped a cluster off to the side, displaying the initiation launch pads.

There was nothing there.

A few more swift clicks pulled up the last few minutes of activity.

Ozpin pressed 'play'. Making sure to keep his eyes on the monitor, he refilled his coffee cup. _I am both impressed and slightly depressed with myself that I can operate a coffee machine without looking_. He mused as the camera replayed the last five minutes.

A figure with wild golden hair and a blue long coat approached a rock set to the side of the area, "Ah. Jaune," Ozpin raised his mug and took a sip, "What are you up to today?"

The figure fiddled with the rock for a moment, stood and turned to the camera, flipping it the bird before moving back to stand on one of the large pads set into the earth. Ozpin raised an eyebrow, watching the young man disappear into the forest below.

Ozpin sat back, letting the warmth of the mug seep into his hands. A sharp pang of jealousy made him twitch. _Oh to be young and free. Able to fling myself off a cliff again to test myself against our oldest enemy._ The thought made the old man sigh.

For several long moments, the Headmaster sat staring at the screen before him. Sip after sip, his brows gradually drawing down. He adjusted the feed to the forest cams. There _had_ been an increase in activity lately. One hand fell to the desk, drumming out a tune long forgotten.

 _Peter reported a record success against rising numbers after his extermination mission with Ms Xiao Long…_ _And he has been bragging about that for the last few mornings._ Peter was an exemplary huntsman, experienced, bold and daring.

A deep frown etched its way across his face.

A soft bebeep sounded from the terminal. His eyes tracked from the randomly circulating camera feeds of the forest to the screen occupied by the vast amounts of paperwork and speeches he'd written over the last few weeks.

Ozpin took another sip of coffee.

"I used to be a warrior." He mused. A small hint of a smile played at his mouth, "I do believe I needed to speak to Mr Arc anyways."

* * *

Blake and Ren completed their third lap of the exterior of the Beacon grounds, stopping to rest at a shady bench not far from the gates to the school. Gates might have been an exaggeration, given that it was a wide, cobblestone path through a large ring of arches that led to the main doors of the school.

"I think it's safe to say he isn't on school grounds." Blake let out a huff, leaning back into the bench. While far from satisfied, having experienced Ren's semblance was serving to keep her from lashing out. It wasn't affecting her anymore, but just having experiencing it had been enough to snuff out some of her more outlandish thoughts.

Semblances were weird.

Ren chose to answer with a soft hum. The green garbed ninja had been as quiet as she had throughout their search. Speaking up to answer questions or suggest a location, but otherwise simply following her lead.

"Assuming Nora hasn't found him inside - and I am willing to bet lien that we would have heard if she had - you are more than likely correct." Ren answered, resting his hands in his lap.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Blake said, eyes tracking around the courtyard for the blond haired leader. "It's a little unsettling to think that he's better at disappearing than I am."

Ren glanced over with a raised eyebrow.

Blake rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean. I _was_ a trained saboteur in a terrorist organization."

"You were?" Ren asked, sarcasm dripping in his voice, "I didn't know that."

Yellow eyes narrowed dangerously at the reserved man.

"My semblance doesn't continuously suppress emotions." He said with an eye roll, "I only said that continued exposure will prolong its effects."

Blake mumbled to herself and crossed her arms. Everyone was a comedian these days. Blake rubbed the bridge of her nose for a moment before turning her attention back to her surroundings. Classes were out by now, so students were milling about enjoying the weather. Most were moving to claim their favorite spots on the grounds.

A soft frown crossed her face. There were so many who carried their weapons - even in uniform- or small, odd numbered groups. Some moved to a place, only to stop short and turn in a different direction, bitter looks on their faces.

"Loss changes everyone in different ways." Ren spoke up, "Everyone has their own way of expressing it. Everyone deals with it differently."

Blake blinked, "They say time heals all wounds." She smiled bitterly, "They never say how much time it takes."

Ren nodded softly, "It makes me wonder how deep a wound Jaune carries."

* * *

Ruby collapsed back on her bed, Yang following suit a moment later.

"Soo…." Yang left the question hanging in the air above them.

"Pyrrha will be fine, she's used to dealing with Nora." Ruby reassured her, waving a hand above herself, "At least better then Jaune will be after Nora gets ahold of him. Her snuggle hugs are far deadlier than yours."

"I'd take that as a challenge if I hadn't already experienced them." Yang dismissed, letting her arms fall above her head.

A minute ticked by.

"Hey, do you… never mind."

A minute ticked by.

"Rube's? Do you think… nah."

A minute ticked by.

"Yang?"

"Yea, Rubes?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. Shoot."

"Do you remember that night?"

Yang pushed herself up to one elbow and looked at her sister. "What do you mean by that?" She asked.

"Just… You know. Grimm dragon, invasion, terrorists. Things like that."

Yang closed her eyes and let out a breath, a small amount of fear weighed on her. "Yea… I remember it, I remember snarking about you had never seen a dragon before and how Beacon was trained to kill grimm." She let out a shaky breath.

With a wince, she sat up, pivoting so she sat towards Ruby. "Why? What do you remember about it?"

Ruby was quiet for a long time, long enough that Yang began to stroke her hair out of habit. It reminded her of back when they were little. It was… crazy and scary back then. Back when she was burning mac and cheese because dad was out on a hunt and they needed to eat, she remembered bawling her eyes out in her room afterwards. Trying to understand the picture instructions on the washing machine…. Those times were hard. Losing Summer had been a heart wrenching struggle growing up, having to be mature and grow up in ways no one should have to.

Yang held back the wet pricks in her eyes as she relived the fear and uncertainty that had flooded her mind that night.

"I was so scared…" Ruby finally whispered, "The dragon was wrecking everything and the explosions and I didn't know where you were in all of it. But I knew… I knew if I could hurt it, I could give everyone else time to make a plan of how to kill it… I just had to trust someone had a plan."

Yang held a breath as she watched her little sister blink away tears at the memory of that night. Gods, she'd fought a psychopath with magic while Ruby had faced down a monster from every little kids - and adults- nightmare.

Yang growled, "When I hit the top of the elevator, I knew something wasn't right. I mean, Weiss was on her last leg." Yang pulled Ruby up into a hug, "It was scary, Th-that bitch looked so smug… so proud about everything." Yang smothered a sniffle.

"I knew Jaune had a plan. He always has a plan. The asshole." Yang took a deep breath, " And then I couldn't tell which way was up when we left the tower… I didn't know if you… if you were okay…" Ruby hugged her back. The feeling of Ruby's arms clasping around her back let Yang gain a breath she hadn't realized she'd lost.

 _I… I couldn't save her… Yang I… I'm so sorry…. I fucked up and she was gone…._

Yang pulled out the hug, looking up and down every inch of her little sister. The black and red trimmed combat skirt, the hood and cape, the red trimmed tips of hair and silver eyes. The sad smile that said she wished she could help, but didn't really know how.

"I was so scared," She whispered, "I _knew_ Weiss was going to die… I was too. I was so scared I was going to leave you… that you might not be there."

A heavy lump hit her stomach as she swallowed and held her little sister in a hug. There was no protests. Only small, strong arms to hug her back.

Yang's eyes burned hot and bright, _I won't lose anyone else. Not now, not ever._

* * *

"Alright. That's enough." Qrow called.

Weiss lowered Myrtenaster before turning with a frown. "But I was getting so close."

With a raised eyebrow, Qrow glanced over her shoulder at the target he'd told her to hit. Forty or fifty icicles, each the size of his arm, were lodged at various intervals in the twenty feet between them and the target. And the ten feet past.

In the floor, the wall behind the target, the ceiling, the wall _behind_ them. Just about anywhere but the target. The last one had been missed by an inch, maybe. That's where he called it though.

"You're getting close enough." He said, scratching his cheek, "I'm more impressed by how much you were able to create. How's it feel?"

Weiss closed her eyes, letting the pale fire that ringed her eyes burn out. She took a deep breath as the power was drawn back in, "Strange… honestly, it's not like Dust, or my Glyphs. More primal, I guess?"

Qrow hummed, "Well you haven't tried taking my head off in the last twenty tries, so I'm gonna guess using that tooth pick you call sword is helping?"

He grinned as she bristled slightly at the jab. Watching a little casual destruction seemed to be doing wonders for his attitude. Causing casual destruction seemed to be helping her too.

"Yes," She let the insult go without a comeback, "Trying to force it, it felt wrong I suppose… in my mind. When I try to _think_ of it as being similar to Dust, and draw parallels to what I am used to… it feels like it shapes itself from there." She glanced down range with a wince, "Now I just have to learn to aim it properly."

"That'll come with practice." He said, sending out a work order for the cleaning crew. It was one piece of paperwork he'd learned real fast, since Glynda had made him clean up his mess after his first class. He pocketed the scroll with a wave of his hand, letting a half grin turn the corners of his mouth.

"For now, we've got a time-hopping blond to hunt down." He said, turning towards the exit. He heard her huff and step to follow him.

* * *

Glynda sat down behind her desk, letting out a breath and enjoying a short break from her responsibilities. The soft scent of her tea helping her relax for a moment before she took a drink. The routine of classes and dealing with rowdy young students let her think back over the years, while stressful, watching her charges grow and learn never ceased to give her peace of mind.

She set the cup down, only for it to tilt to the side a little.

The cracks that split her desk ruined the pleasant thoughts.

Much as the day before, she sat and stared at the damaged. Two imprints drew her attention. Just a glance at them was enough to remind her of the face that had forced her to back down. Her elbows rested gently on the desk as she let her face fall into them.

It hadn't been the first time she'd lost her temper and shouted at someone, but somehow the memory of his face hurt more than any before.

A frown flourished, _Why should I feel so guilty about what I said?_ It was a good question, _If he knew who Cinder Fall was, he should have alerted us. He should have warned us of what she was planning._

One hand lifted the cup and she took another sip. He had every opportunity to approach her or the headmaster. To tell them the truth. They could have apprehended Fall and her underlings.

" _ **I had NO choice! If I stopped her before the Fall, something far, far worse would have come. I tried it before and FAILED! I was forced to sit back and watch everyone I love - Everyone I fucking care about - march to their deaths again and again. Pyrrha? Dead. My Team? Dead! You and Ozpin and RWBY and EVERYONE! DEAD! And then I die. Then I wake up and do it again, and again, and fucking again."**_

His words assaulted her again. The anger, pain, sorrow and self damnation washed over her again. The feelings washed over her again as she replayed their confrontation again and again in her mind. He had told them before? When?

Ms Nikos was still alive. There was no team RWBY.

Glynda pulled off her glasses and massaged her temples. Nothing made sense.

Another sip of her tea did little to settle her mind, she was a seasoned huntress and teacher. She'd seen everything from her students; from depression to anger, self doubt to unusual semblances. A few had thrown her off, but nothing yet had scared her, put her so much on the back foot that she couldn't stand.

She _knew_ the world was twisted and cruel, more so than most ever would. There was so much wrong for what little good there was. She was supposed to help them, not scream at them.

Glynda wiped her eyes and put her glasses back in place. Taking a deep breath, she came to a conclusion. She had lashed out, and she needed to apologize for doing so. With a steady hand she pulled out her scroll and dialed Mr Arc's number.

It immediately went to voicemail. With a frown she tried again with the same result. A trickle of worry settled in her mind.

She dialed the Headmaster's personal scroll and waited a moment.

"Glynda? Is something wrong?" Were Ozpin's first words.

"No, nothing is wrong. I was simply trying to reach Mr Arc regarding some material for his class." The little lie came easily.

"Ah, I see. I have been unable to reach him myself and decided to take a stroll to see if I could locate him around the school. I shall pass on your message."

"Thank you, sir. Please have him meet with me as soon as possible." Glynda gave a sigh. As frustrating and irritating as Ozpin could be, he was still one of the few things she could rely on in life.

Her scroll clicked off as she set it down, a small weight lifting from her shoulders as she took another sip of her tea. _This is just another hurdle that we are faced with. We shall face it as we always have, and we shall survive to face another day._

* * *

Ozpin took a deep breath as he walked easily through the forest, letting his senses grow attuned to the ambience. The way the trees creaked and groaned, the smell of grass and soil, and the way the wind rustled to leaves. It was beautiful, a smile traced his lips as he made a mental note to do this more often.

Even after seeing almost every landscape and environment on the face of Remnant, simply being out in it again gave him joy. A squirrel lept from one branch to the next as it darted above him, his eyes tracking it for a moment before it disappeared from sight.

Ozpin tilted his head and allowed a small amount of his power to swell within him, his vision sharpened and his hearing increased. Nothing dramatic, just a slight boost to help him track down a wayward young man.

A low growl and the snapping of brush drew his attention, he stopped beside a large tree and let the sounds guide him as the disturbance grew closer. A beowulf, medium size at most, was traveling rapidly towards him, Ozpin raised an eyebrow as he heard the beast grow nearer, bringing up his cane for the inevitable attack.

A moment later, his instincts proved true as the beast broke through the foliage, red eyes ablaze as it rushed forward. A blur of motion was the last thing the creature saw before his cane ended its existence, the sudden strike driving the beast's head down into the ground, its body flipping up and over as it somersaulted into the tree.

Ozpin let his cane complete a lazy circle in the air as his muscles stretched, giving only a short glance at the rapidly dissolving beast. He took another breath.

This, this is what he missed. The feeling of his muscles straining and the burst of adrenaline at facing humanity's longest enemy. His body tingled as he began to walk in the direction of where the grimm seemed to be headed.

His pace picked up from an easy stroll to brisk pace, the sound of more grimm sounded up ahead, along with the unmistakable sound of a weapon carving through flesh and bone. The grin broke into a smile at the sounds.

His path lead him closer as he drew more of his power, feeling his muscles react to heightened strength and reflexes. His eyes flickered left and right as the trees began to thin out and a flash of black drew his attention. The hulking black frame of an ursa knocked a small tree from its roots as the beast rushed towards the sounds of combat, ignoring the human not ten feet from it.

Ozpin slowed his pace as the trees grew ever more sparse and the resounding clang of metal rang out. His fingers itched as he gripped his cane, wanting nothing more than to lash out with the power he had imbued them with. He reigned in the desire to rush blindly in, however, pausing at the edge of the trees to take in the scene before him.

There were no less than twenty or thirty grimm either circling or in combat. The ursa that had passed him a moment earlier charged straight into the middle of the melee, raising a mighty arm and brought it crashing down. A flash of silver sent the limb flying - dissolving before it even reached the ground - and the ursa stumbling forward.

Jaune Arc darted out from under where the limb once was, his blade buried into the side of the Grimm. With a growl of his own, he yanked the blade out, not bothering with looking at his latest kill. Instead, the younger hunter weaved under a leaping beowulf as it tried to pin him to the ground, earning a clean bisection for its trouble.

Ozpin quickly categorized the condition of the Huntsman. His jacket was torn in a dozen different places, his pants and boots scratched and muddy. Golden hair, while have never really been kept in order, was now an out of control mess that caught the sun every time the man moved.

He wielded his sword in one hand and his shield strapped to his arm. A pistol was gripped in his shield hand as he diverted a strike, tossing the offending paw to the side and firing into the exposed chest of a beowulf.

He also appeared to be wearing a combat vest from the Armory. Curious.

Jaune dodged a strike from another ursa, slipping from sight as he wove back into the horde, silver blade flashing like a blender as every strike claimed another monster. Ozpin's smile grew as he watched the battle. He drew power and dashed into the fray.

Green aura flashed as his cane flickered in and out of the side of a beowulf's skull, leaving the body to collapse. Four more died the same way was he began to methodically work his way in a slow circle around the group, catching flashes of Jaune every few seconds.

To say the fight was taking place in a circle may have not been accurate, given that Mr Arc was moving in, around, and through the grimm. He was sacrificing ground in every direction, though only because he was making more somewhere else.

A beowulf was thrown from the middle of the fight, crashing into its brethren and creating an opening for Ozpin to see Jaune strike down another foe, his aura flashing as a lucky beowulf landed a strike across his forearm.

Jaune carved its face in two a split second later and Ozpin was forced to reevaluate the Grimm's luck.

"Ah, Mr Arc. A pleasure to run into you." Ozpin called out over the growls and howls of the horde.

Blue eyes snapped to him as a snarl blossomed across the other man's face. "What are you doing here?" He asked, breaking eye contact and running a beowulf through, driving it to the ground.

Ozpin's cane shattered the leg of an ursa as he continued his circle. A small spike of irritation caused him to strike out again and break another limb before bringing his cane around to impale the beast through the neck. Ozpin frowned, that had been particularly cruel of him, far from the swift and surgical way he prefered to put down grimm.

"I felt the need for some fresh air," He said, trying to keep his voice casual as he shattered another grimm's face. "The day seemed pleasant enough for a stroll."

Jaune didn't respond, instead whipping the pistol around and firing into an ursa's face far more times than was strictly necessary. It seemed Mr Arc was not in the mood for conversation. Though for the moment, Ozpin felt much the same, old memories simmered in the back of his mind as he began to lash out aggressively at the grimm that seemed eager to throw themselves at him.

Fine by him, he had stress to burn.

Minutes ticked by, marked by the rapid extermination of the grimm. Ozpin's frown deepened, Peter's reports had mentioned increased activity, but this felt… wrong. The old man vaulted over an ursa, taking a moment to survey the area.

The grimm were as numerous as when he'd arrived.

A large crack and the sound of snapping trees forced Ozpin's attention to the tree line as a booming roar sounded. The Grimm around him heard it, if the way they suddenly scrambled and broke rank was any indication. All but the youngest were now moving to a half circle, still attacking and being slaughtered by Jaune and himself, but only doing so from three sides.

Ozpin caught an annoyed look cross Mr Arc's face as they were forced closer to each other. A few more strikes found the two nearly back to back as the grimm consolidated, almost herding them towards the treeline.

Another roar from the woods caused the remaining Grimm to pull back further, with one or two breaking forth to continue to keep both humans occupied.

With the lessing assault, both of them striking down the occasional grimm with slightly more force than was strictly necessary, Ozpin tried to shake the borderline anger that had begun to seep into his bones.

"While I'm not one to waste a day such as this," Ozpin spoke as he impaled a leaping beowulf, "I was wondering if I might speak with you about the incident at the grainery?"

Jaune stepped into and under a charging ursa, sliding his blade between its ribs and carving its chest open. "Why are _you_ here?" Came the sharp reply, dark blue eyes shooting a glare at the older man.

Brows furrowed as Ozpin fought to hold back a biting retort, venting his emotions in a rather theatrical display as he _slaughtered_ a beowulf.

"Well, to be frank," He snapped, his patience wearing unusually thin, "I wished to ask about why you lashed out at Ms Goodwitch

His eyes widened as an entire fir tree sailed past, striking off the ground with enough force to bounce another ten feet in the air before it crashed into the ranks of grimm behind them.

"What the fuck!" Jaune cursed out, having done the same as Ozpin and watching the tree decimate a dozen smaller grimm.

The two men stared at the tree for a moment before turning to look at each other, then slowly in the direction the tree had come from.

"While I disagree with your use of language," Ozpin spoke, feeling the color drain from his face, "I find myself agreeing with the sentiment."

Standing at the edge of the clearing they had been fighting in, stood an Ursa. Though the image that was so often associated with that name did little to describe the beast that was now glaring down at them.

"Is that what I think that is?" Jaune asked, dipping to the side and unloading the rest of his pistol's ammo into a particularly brave beowulf.

Ozpin let out a sigh, staring down the beast, "I believe it is, Mr Arc. I believe it is."

* * *

Yang screamed and almost jumped out of her skin as the door to her dorm room was kicked off its hinges and flew across the room. Ruby screamed too, holding to the light fixture that hung from the ceiling. Rose petals slowly drifted in the air as Peter Port stormed into the room, his blunderaxe in one hand and a broad smile on his face.

"Now now, ladies. This is not the time screaming practice!" He bellowed, raising his voice to be heard over the two terrified teens. "Grab your weapons and follow me! We have beasies to kill!"

Yang's scream cut off, a shocked expression on her face as she balanced on the bed, back to the wall as she held a lamp defensively in front of her. "WHaT ARE yo- Why did you KICK DOWN THE DOOR?!"

"No time to knock, obviously!" Professor Port loudly declared, "The good Headmaster has just requested backup in the Emerald Forest and there's not a moment to lose!"

Ruby dropped from the ceiling, "What do you mean why is the Headmaster asking for help are we being attacked where are they oh gods we still haven't found Jaune!" The shorter girl began to panic more as she ran around the room, forgetting for the moment that she wasn't in _her_ room and therefore, none of her gear was here.

"Fear not, Miss Rose, Mr Arc is already assisting the Headmaster as we speak." The large man apparently had no trouble understanding Ruby's rapid words as one of Weiss' dresses were thrown across the room.

"WHAT!" Yang yelled, rushing forward and grabbing Ember Celica off her night stand, "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO! Let's go!"

Reaching out with one hand, she snagged Ruby's hood as the red cloaked girl rushed by, "Come on! I know a shortcut!" She yelled as she rushed past the Professor.

"Haha! That's the spirit lassie!"

He turned and followed as Yang drew back her arm back and discharged it into Team RRNN's door just as it was beginning to open. Pyrrha screamed as the door exploded and left her standing there with the doorknob in her hand.

Yang explained the situation by throwing Ruby into her face and shouting, "JAUNE'S IN TROUBLE! GET THE GUNS -" She dove through the window, glass and all, without slowing down, "- follow us!" Her voice trailed off as she disappeared into the distance.

Ruby untangled herself from her partner and scrambled to her feet, dodging out of the way as Professor Port thundered past with a booming laugh and a shout of "Meet us at the cliffs!" before he too threw himself out the window and vanished from view.

"W-w-what?" Was all Pyrrha was able to get out before Ruby was throwing her sword and shield at her, "Ruby! What is going on?"

Ruby said something, but Pyrrha wasn't able to make out more than a frantic "Where is it where is it where is it!?" as the small girl dug frantically under her bed.

A confused and desperate glance from Pyrrha revealed Nora stood to one side, Magneigh held at the ready with her back pushed into the corner.

"Don't ask me!" Nora defended herself, gesturing to the broken window with the barrel of her grenade launcher.

Ruby shot up from under the bed, a medium sized box in her hands, "Found it! Finally!" She declared, rushing to where Crescent Rose was resting. Said weapon suddenly flew into the air just before she reached it.

"Ruby! Explain now! Use words." Pyrrha demanded as she held one hand out, her semblance glowing around the sniper-scythe.

"I don't know!" Ruby said, spinning around, "Professor Port just kicked down the door and yelled about Jaune being in trouble and I panicked and we need to follow them right now!"

Pyrrha dropped the sniper rifle and rushed to her own bed, "Why didn't you say so!" She said, grabbing an extra bandolier of ammo and throwing on her armor on over her school clothes.

A glance showed Nora doing the same, extra grenades slung over her shoulder. "I agree with Pyrrha! But we need to find Renny and Blakey before we-"

"Already here." Ren said calmly as he darted into the room, "Doctor Oobleck explained the situation to us." He said as he retrieved his weapons. He paused for a moment and looked over his shoulder, "What happened to the door?"

His question went unanswered as Blake slid into the room a moment later, Gamble Shroud already on her back as she rushed over to Ruby, "Which way?" She asked, her expression panicked.

"Follow me." Ruby shouted as she leapt out the window and making a beeline in the direction of the cliffs. Everyone else followed in short order, pausing only long enough to make sure they didn't land on one another before breaking into a dead sprint.

* * *

The Beast's haunches brushed only a few feet below the tops of the trees. A small trill of shock ran through the Headmaster as the Ancient Ursa lowered its car sized head and let loose a bone rattling growl. Incredibly thick looking plates of bone armored the chest, legs and back of the creature. Black fur showed in a few places, the armor gapped enough for it to move, as moss and foliage covered the spikes like a miniature forest.

 _It must have been drawn from the mountains._ Ozpin's mind raced, _Drawn by the Attack perhaps? Just by the increased movements of other grimm?_ His brows furrowed, _Or perhaps She is just upset that Beacon still stands._

He took a step back and steeled himself as more magic flooded his body. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Jaune clip his sheath to his hip and reach into his coat. The young man showed a curious lack of fear. If anything, he looked angrier.

 _More concerning is how the patrols and surveillance drones never showed evidence of anything this large._ His cane clicked to a stop in his hand, held to the side at a readied position.

"Well, this certainly puts a downer on ones day," Ozpin coughed, recovering from his shock, " And here I was hoping to take a break from the excessive amounts of paperwork." He paused as Jaune drew out a string of grenades from under his coat.

A massive paw dug into the ground a hundred yards away, drowning out the sound of pins and levers being pulled and released. From the corner of his eye he watched Jaune toss the half dozen grenades into the horde which had retreated a short distance behind them.

Black cylinders bounced and scattered between the Grimm a few seconds before they detonated. Gouts of flame and shrapnel erupted from their ranks, shredding those closest while the flames quickly caught and spread as the monsters panicked and trampled each other.

"Fire grenades?" Ozpin asked, slightly dumbfounded as the Ancient Ursa took another rumbling step towards them.

Jaune turned his attention back to the fore with a shrug, "Thermite, actually. I thought they'd come in handy while I was out for a walk." Sarcasm thick in his voice as he rolled his arm and squared his feet, "We've got a slightly bigger problem on our hands at the moment right now."

Ozpin's reply was drowned out as a great roar signalled the charge of the massive beast.

* * *

Eric and Travis finished filling out the pieces of paper and handed them over to the clerk at the front of the Requisitions Room.

"You boys know I can't just assign you this stuff," The clerk said as he read over the requests. "You have to have a Professor verify the request and sign for it in person."

Travis thumped his brother in the chest, "Told you so."

His twin rolled his eyes, "Yea, yea." He picked up the paper and gave a shrug to the guy, "Sorry for wasting your time."

Turning back down the hallway, the two met up with their teammates near the entrance.

"Well that's a shame." Harper said, "So what's the next plan?"

"Ambush CRDN in their sleep?" The twins suggested in unison.

Three sets of eyes turned to the pink faced leader, Jason rolled his eyes behind his tinted sunglasses, "Sure, why not. We got rope and climbing gear from our last mission." A hand came up to rub his painted goatee, "We could hot breach their window."

Harper laughed, "I like it. I'll pack a demo charge."

A klaxon blared through the halls as the team stopped short.

"Maybe it's a drill?" Travis asked.

" **Attention all students. Please report to the main auditorium at once. This is not a drill."**

Eric slapped his brother on the side of the head before breaking out in a run.

* * *

Qrow flashed back into human form, landing in a roll at the edge of the Cliffs of Beacon. "Welp, that's a big ass Ursa." He said, glancing over at the assembled teens and teachers waiting for his report.

"How are they holding up?" Dr Oobleck asked as he quickly typed away at a large scroll.

"Well they've managed to set a lot of trees and grimm on fire so far." Qrow replied, "And they're still fighting. Not making much of a dent on the damn thing though."

Port huffed, "Alright, everyone remember the plan?" He addressed the seven students, who were watching the billowing smoke cloud grow in the forest.

"Me and Pyrrha are sniper support, keep distance and aim for eyes and/or keep lesser grimm at bay." Ruby rattled off, silver eyes focused on the tree line below.

"Blake and I shall run skirmish and report blindspots." Ren spoke, "If necessary, we will break off and engage larger grimm to keep the pressure off the flanks."

"I'm gonna try and blow it's eyes out!" Nora added enthusiastically, earning a loud laugh.

"Excellent," The professor boomed, "That will allow Qrow, Bart, Ms Schnee and myself to help take the pressure off of those two down there and bring down this mighty beasty!"

Qrow rolled his eyes, glancing at Weiss and giving her a reassuring grin and nod. "They looked like they were holding well enough." He said, meeting her eyes.

"Good." She said, taking a deep breath, "I swear, I will tan his hide if he gets so much as a scratch over this."

A roar drew everyone's attention to the forest. Any reassurance from Qrow died an ugly death as Weiss watched the head, shoulders and chest of an Ursa break above the distant trees before it crashed back down out of sight.

"We are ready! Everyone prepare to launch in five seconds!" Dr Oobleck shouted as he rushed to his platform and drew his weapon, taking a sip from it a moment before the launch pads sent them hurtling through the air.

* * *

Jaune growled as he sprinted forward, his coat tattered and torn, a slight limp in his leg as he zigged and zagged, a gigantic paw slammed into the ground behind him. The claws a large as his torso carving furrows into the grown as the massive head came rushing towards him.

Whipping a hand into his ruined coat, he drew a grenade, pulled the pin and tossed it upwards and backwards. The explosive vanished into the maw as a violent explosion of green slammed into the side of its face, snapping its jaws shut.

A muffled thump was followed by a horrendously loud roar of pain as fire dust and chemicals ignited inside its mouth. Jaune was thrown from his feet as a paw blindly slammed down next to him and swept him up and away. He hurtled a dozen yards through the air and slammed harshly into the ground.

Rolling back to his feet he took a greedy breath of air, "Alright. Where in the fuck did this thing come from?!"

Ozpin landed in a flash of green, "I was asking myself that exact question, Mr Arc. An Ancient Grimm such as this should never have been able to wander this close to Vale." The old man said, panting for breath himself as he favored one arm. "Not without someone noticing."

The Ursa shook its head, turning and biting down into the earth, scraping a large amount of dirt and grass. Slowly, it turned its head back to them, burning soil dripping between its fangs.

Murder raged brightly in its eyes, the armored plates that had grown outwards along the edges of its eyes gave the look of a glaring skull.

The fire that burned around them glinted off the bone plates, the smell of blood and thick smoke served to paint the picture perfectly.

Jaune hissed under his breath, "Oh, that probably just pissed it off even more, huh." His hand dipped into his coat as he scowled, "I only have two grenades and a pistol left. Any ideas?"

The maw opened and half a ton of flaming dirt poured forth, fire and smoke licked at the edge of its mask as Jaune got his first decent look at its gullet. _Three_ rows of teeth, each at least as long as his arm, and its incisors as large as he was tall.

"I would advise you retreat and let me handle this," Ozpin was also staring at the monster, watching as its eyes traced over them before settling on Jaune himself, "However, I am not sure it will allow that."

Jaune rolled his eyes as the Ancient Ursa crossed the distance between them in two massive leaps. "No shit!" He cursed and darted to the left, again the massive head turned to track him. "Do something you bitchass green pixie!"

Jaune ran ahead, ditching the idea of running into the trees for cover. The damn thing wouldn't care and just brush through them, while he ran the risk of tripping over something. Looked like it was time for the old reliable.

With a quick glance, he turned and darted back to the right before running _under_ the damned thing. The Ursa, already on top of him nearly tripped as it tried to snap down on him. He fired randomly at the creature's stomach as he tried to weave between its massive legs. He very quickly stopped firing when a round ricocheted off the armor and cut his cheek.

He was nearly out from beneath it when he noticed it was suddenly very bright. Like the sun was shining in his eyes bright.

Squinting his eyes, Jaune realized the damned thing had _stood up_ on its hind legs. The glowing red eyes glared down at him, a massive rear leg shifted. Jaune fired in up in pointless protest as he turned and ran off to the side.

An explosion sounded above him and a wave of energy washed over him.

Jaune cursed as he was picked up and thrown through the air once again. A fair bit of air time followed by an abrupt stop left him slapped against a tree. _That's probably a rib or two._ He growled to himself, scrabbling in the dirt and pulling himself into the bush.

A glance out of cover showed Ozpin floating in the air, surrounded by a green orb. Bolts of energy lanced outwards, the old man weaved back and forth in front of the things face as it swatted angrily at him.

It looked like Oz finally had its attention.

That was nice.

What was less nice was that there was still a 60 plus foot tall ursa on a rampage and most of the trees on the other side of the clearing were now turning into a rather large forest fire.

With a sigh, Jaune rushed back into the fray. This was just stupid. Maybe it was the hangover talking, but this was really, really stupid. Since when was some Ancient Grimm just hanging out in the damned forest?

Hell, even the Nevermore and Death Stalker from initiation were tiny compared to this thing!

Pushing Aura into his legs, Jaune rushed around and behind the beast, keeping one eye on how it balanced on its hind legs. If he was lucky, there should be… Yes. There!

Jaune sprinted in from the side, Crocea Mors flashing before his sunk it to the hilt in the patch of exposed flesh between two plates of armor.

A roar of pain threatened to bust his eardrums as his vision swam. Repercussions of dealing with titans like this were still relatively new to him. Given that they usually killed him in the first few minutes those rare times he ran into them.

He forced those past memories from his mind as he staggered away, leaving Crocea buried into its achilles tendon.

* * *

Ozpin dropped from the air like a rock, blood seeping from his eyes, ears, and nose. He'd been directly in front of its mouth when it roared.

He slammed into the ground, his breath forced from his body as his thoughts scattered. Blinking through the pain, he saw a fuzzy figure dashing towards him. Behind the fuzzy figure, a much, much larger one fell. He assumed it made a horrendous crashing noise, not that he was hearing much at the moment, what with the constant ringing sound.

His eardrums likely gone.

He registered the fact that he was being dragged back, the torn forest floor vibrating violently as the large hazy shape rolled around on the ground. Something jabbed into his back as leaves and branches filled his vision. Slowly, sound came back to him.

"Oi!... You… awa…." Muted pain blossomed across his face as he forced his vision to focus. Mr Arc was kneeling over him, one hand raised as he prepared to strike again.

With a wince, Ozpin raised a hand to dissuade him.

The hand came down anyways.

"Wake up old man." Jaune said, or likely shouted, before grabbing him under the shoulders again and dragging him further into the brush and behind a tree. "Stay here." The younger huntsman ordered, peeking out from behind their cover. Blood coated one side of his face, more on his hands and clothes.

The forest trembled again.

A flaming tree crashed to the ground a dozen yards away, forcing both men to flare their aura. Mr Arc cursed vehemently and tore off in the other direction.

Ozpin took a deep breath and growled. Anger boiling through his hazy mind as he forced his aura to heal his wounds. Vision and hearing snapped back, registering gunfire, cursing, and roars as he pushed himself up to one knee.

His clothes were in tatters, he could feel blood and mud clinging to his skin.

The anger burned deeper.

 _An Ancient Ursa? Truely!?_ A hissed breath escaped him, _Is it not enough for her to have taken away everything else? To lock me into a desperate corner of the world?_

He found his feet, cane still clutched in one hand.

 _One century after another, and SHE still hunts me!?_ He reached deep into his mind, touching what power still remained in him. Diminished over the years, slowly sapped with each incarnation while SHE continued to build hers.

Violent energy built up as he rocketed out of the treeline, taking in the battlefield in an instant. Mr Arc was weaving between the beasts massive legs, trying to stay away from the maw capable of swallowing him whole. Expletives audible between the growls and roars as the Ursa tried to crush its prey.

Ozpin raised his cain to his shoulder, striking out as he near the beasts flank. Destructive, green energy exploded. A roar like a thousand boulders echoed through the trees. Ozpin roared back.

"These are _MY_ students, _MY_ school, and _MY_ corner of the world!" He shouted, punctuating his declaration with another magic strike. Energy rippled and ripped, tearing through the bone plating that protected the monster's side.

Great chunks of the beast cracked and fell to the ground, exposing thick hide that covered tremendous cords of muscle. A feral growl escaped as his lips twisted into a snarl.

* * *

Weiss raised her rapier, a large, black glyph springing to life before her and her team. Her momentum sharply cut before she released the glyph and struck the forest floor, rolling to bleed off the remaining energy.

Blake, Yang, and Ren landed on her right as Pyrrha, Ruby, and Nora touched down on her left. Professor Port and Oobleck landed a little further ahead, the larger of the two using his aura to cannonball through a tree. Dr Oobleck opted to use some kind of flamethrower to slow his descent.

With a quick glance to make sure everyone was accounted for, she sprinted after the cawing crow that circled overhead in front of them. Not that they really needed him to guide them, the sound of battle reaching them even half a mile away.

Weiss nimbly ducked and dodged between roots and limbs as the group rushed forwards. Ruby was using her semblance to a limited extent, staying just ahead of the rest and pointing them along the fastest route.

Weiss watched as Ruby suddenly leapt into the air, leaving a blur of rose petals to drift in the breeze.

A flick of her wrist summoned a white glyph before her, with two more in front as she dashed across the air above a small river. A glance back showed the others following after her, so she pulled up on the other side to maintain the bridge. Professor Port gave her a slap on the back as he passed, "Jolly good lassie." He called, keeping easy pace with the others.

As soon as the large man passed, she dropped the glyphs and dashed after them. Her mind was running a hundred miles a minute, fear nipping at the edges as she tried not to think of what they may find.

Jaune _must_ still be alive, the occasional sound of gunfire proved it.

"Grimm!" Ruby called from the lead, skidding to a stop near a large rock. Her scythe was deployed in the blink of an eye, the red and silver blade flashing in the sparse rays of sun that made it through the treetops.

"Keep moving Ms Rose," Dr Oobleck ordered, "Ms Belladonna, stay with me. We shall hold the rear. Peter, Ms Xioa Yong and Ms Nikos, blaze a trail. Everyone else, stay in the center. We must breach through them"

'Them', Weiss quickly discovered, was a horde of grimm that stood no less than a dozen rows deep and stretched into the forest left and right.

None of the beasts even turned towards the group of humans that had burst in behind them.

"Wh-what are they doing?" Weiss asked, unable to keep the tremble from her voice. The grimm just mingled restlessly, attention focused on something further in the forest.

"They're awaiting orders, lassie," Prof Port said, glancing back at her with a twinkle in her eye, "From their Alpha."

Ruby whipped her head over towards them, "One Grimm is capable of this? How? I see several Majors in there!"

"Maybe if you paid attention in the Prof's class," Yang cut in, "You'd know that that older Grimm can order younger ones around. Meaning that the older it gets, the bigger it gets, and the more control it has."

"Righty O, Miss Xiao Long." Port grinned broadly, "I'm glad my lessons are sinking in."

Weiss growled and slashed her rapier, "Less talking, more getting through this horde and saving Jaune!"

"Of course, of course!" Peter Port laughed before launching himself on the back of the nearest Ursa Major and fired his weapon. Yang was hot on his heels with Pyrrha tagging behind. The redhead looked a little less sure of the apparent plan, but opened fire with her rifle nonetheless.

Qrow appeared next to Weiss just as she was about to follow, "I think it might be a good time to pick up where we left off with training, don't you?"

Weiss nodded and summoned the power of the Fall Maiden. Fire flared from her eyes as she launched into the air, hovering a few yards behind Pyrrha as shards of ice consolidated around her.

* * *

 **Eyy, so here's another chapter. Let's see when I get another one out.**

 **So, between traveling for holiday and work, I started rereading the comments you guys have left for me. I just want to say thank you. To the (as of now) 743 that have followed this story - I never ever thought I'd hit above maybe 200 - and everyone that reads just for kicks. You guys are amazing.**

 **From Brig, you incognito sneek, to Blasingfire, JackTheSpades, hirshja, and Axccel.**

 **And every other one of you glorious crazies. As much as I'd like to name drop everyone, I'd rather not inflate the word count. Just, thank you. All of you.**

 **The praise and criticism in equal parts makes me smile. Hearing my phone buzz after I upload always makes me grin. Just knowing that you guys are enjoying this gives me a boost.**

 **Oh, and about the spambots. Yea, you guys might want to check your accounts, I've gotten several PMs from empty accounts. No bio, no follows, nothing. Just messages asking me to join some chat server.**

 **Anyways, I go back to the void. Thank y'all again. I'll try and track down Jaeger before the next chapter so he can help me again. Maybe if I bribe him, he'll come back.**


End file.
